Real Madrid Reportedly Set to Make Cristiano Ronaldo World's Highest-Paid Player

Real Madrid are reportedly set to make Cristiano Ronaldo the highest-paid player in the world as they try to wrap up a new contract with the 28-year-old.

Ronaldo—who is currently making £215,000 per week according to The Sun—confirmed earlier this week that his immediate future remains with Real Madrid. He emphasized that he would not be leaving the club over the summer transfer window (per ESPN).

And according to The Telegraph, Madrid are now reportedly prepared to reward Ronaldo with an exuberant weekly salary as part of a new contract at the club.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is to fly to the United States this month in an effort to thrash out a new contract with Cristiano Ronaldo and end Manchester United's hopes of re-signing the forward.

[...]

Perez is now planning to meet Ronaldo during Real’s four‑game tour of the United States and offer to make him the world’s highest-paid player with a package in excess of the £330,000 a week earned by Samuel Eto’o at Anzhi Makhachkala.

Real Madrid bought Ronaldo from Manchester United in 2009 for £80 million, making him the most expensive player transfer in the world (per BBC Sport). Thus, if anyone were likely to match Eto'o's incredible salary, it would be the Portuguese international—especially given his 201 goals in 199 appearances for Los Blancos.

His current contract is set to expire in June 2015 (per Transfermarkt). While that still leaves Madrid with plenty of time to negotiate a new deal, they won't want to leave it any longer than needed—especially given the potential ramifications were Ronaldo to leave the Bernabeu.

The Spanish powerhouse will know—having seen Fernando Llorente's departure from Athletic Bilbao most recently—that they can ill afford to have negotiations stall.

Which, according to Ronaldo, they currently are.

Whether the Portuguese international would be able to turn down a salary upward of £330,000 per week still remains to be seen. We should also soon discover whether Madrid will be forced to spend that much money just to keep Ronaldo.

One thing is for certain, however: We definitely haven't heard the last of the Ronaldo contract saga for this offseason, and perhaps not for the entire year to come either.

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