“Cristiano got angry” - When ex-Real Madrid president claimed Cristiano Ronaldo left due to Florentino Perez wanting former Barcelona superstar

Former Real Madrid president Roman Calderon has said that current president Florentino Perez wanted former Barcelona attacker Neymar, which angered Cristiano Ronaldo, eventually leading to his exit. Ronaldo spent a hugely successful nine-season spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, from 2009 to 2018.

After arriving from Manchester United in the summer of 2009, the 39-year-old plundered a club record 450 goals, winning big titles galore. That includes two La Liga and four UEFA Champions League titles, including an unprecedented three-peat.

However, the 2018 Champions League final turned out to be final game for the Merengues, as he moved to Juventus. Meanwhile, Neymar spent a short but successful four-season spell at Los Blancos' arch-rivals Barcelona, between 2013 and 2017. He won the continental treble, including one La Liga and three Champions League titles.

Calderon told Radio Villa Trinidad (via GOAL) in February 2019 about Ronaldo's 2018 exit:

“Cristiano asked for a raise after winning the Champions League and Florentino denied it. Cristiano also got angry because he heard that Madrid would be willing to pay a lot of money for Neymar.

“Florentino told him that if he brought in a cheque for 100 million euros he would let him go and that's how it was. Florentino did not accept that Cristiano was a signing of mine."

He added:

“I don’t deny that he has been a great president for Madrid, but he does not accept well the inheritances that he receives. The same thing happened to him with (Iker) Casillas, Raul, (Arjen) Robben and (Wesley) Sneijder.”

Ronaldo is currently at Al-Nassr, having joined them in December 2022 on a free transfer.

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A look at Cristiano Ronaldo's UEFA Champions League records with Real Madrid

Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo (right)

Cristiano Ronaldo is a UEFA Champions League doyen, holding a slew of records in the competition. For starters, he's the competition's all-time record goalscorer with 140 goals.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is the first player to score for 100 goals in the competition and also doing so for a single club (Real Madrid). Ronaldo also holds the record for most goals in a single Champions League season, scoring 17 times.

Moreover, the 39-year-old is the first player to win the competition five times and remains the only player to score in the final for two different winning clubs. He first did so with Manchester United in the 2008 final win over Chelsea in Moscow.