Cristiano Ronaldo handed new contract by Real Madrid

Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo have agreed to renew the player’s contract keeping the Portuguese forward at the club until 2018. With an improved annual salary of close to 20 million euros, the deal makes Ronaldo the highest-paid soccer player in the world, according to Real Madrid.

“The agreement makes me extremely happy,” the 28-year-old said on Sunday. Asked to confirm that he was now the best-paid player, ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who earns 17 million per season at Paris Saint-Germain, Ronaldo answered: “That wasn’t the priority. The money is important, of course, but not the most important thing. The priority was to set up a project for the future, at the best club in the world.”

“It is a great day,” said Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez. “Cristiano has shown maximum commitment, unlimited professionalism, immense talent and extremely high demands on himself, all of which has won the heart of Madrid fans. His statistics are overwhelming,” added Pérez, noting that Ronaldo has scored 204 goals in just over four seasons at the club. “Cristiano, just like Madrid, always wants more.”

Ronaldo was signed from Manchester United in 2009 for 94 million euros and already had a contract with Real until 2015. This summer the club reportedly paid Tottenham Hotspur a record 101-million-euro fee for Gareth Bale, although Real said that the figure was lower than that disbursed for Ronaldo. Although the club insists on keeping the details of the Bale deal a secret, it is believed that he is on a 13-million-euro pay deal, more than Ronaldo was earning under his previous contract.