Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has defended Cristiano Ronaldo in the wake of his tax issues and has no plans to sell the forward.
Florentino Perez has stressed Cristiano Ronaldo will only leave Real Madrid if a club matches his €1billion buyout clause while revealing there have been no offers for him yet.
Prosecutors in Madrid recently filed a complaint to a court in Pozuelo de Alarcon that accused the four-time Ballon d’Or winner of a “voluntary” and “conscious” breach of his tax obligations, claiming the 32-year-old created a “business structure” in 2010 to conceal earnings from image rights between 2011 and 2014, thus defrauding the Spanish tax authorities out of €14.7million.
The complaint was quickly followed by reports that Ronaldo has decided to leave Madrid ahead of next season following his tax problems, but Perez is adamant the prolific forward will only be on the move for a huge transfer fee.
‘It has affected me how the media treated Cristiano, the presumption of innocence was not respected,” Perez told Onda Cero.
‘I believe everyone must comply with their tax obligations and I know that Cristiano always does things the right way.
‘Cristiano has the same corporate structure he had in England, where he spent many years without problems. I am sure that Cristiano complies with his tax duties, it must be a confusion that will be cleared.”
‘All I can say is that Cristiano Ronaldo has a contract with Madrid,” Perez continued.
‘I have not spoken to Ronaldo, I have just heard what has been in the newspapers. The last time I spoke to Ronaldo was after the Cardiff match and we spoke about next season.
‘He always told me he is at ease in Real Madrid. Ronaldo is in a major tournament with his country and until that is over I cannot talk to him.
‘The clause for Cristiano is £1bn. We have not had an offer for Cristiano… the Sheikh at PSG is a friend of mine and he hasn’t called me nor have we talked.
‘This is all very strange. Cristiano is a good guy, I will have to talk with Cristiano and see what’s happening. I will always defend Cristiano as a person and as a footballer. He’s a very good person.
‘Cristiano definitely didn’t want us to pay his fine… he isn’t like that. I’m sure that Cristiano meets all his tax requirements, it must be a confusion that will be cleared up.
‘Cristiano is not angry about who has to pay his fine. The only thing I know is that Cristiano is very angry with the treatment he has received in the press,’ he said.
– This story originally appeared on SoccerClub.co.za
