MADRID: Life in Madrid certainly seems to agree with Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portugal forward signed a five-year contract extension with Real Madrid on Monday, capping an exceptional year after triumphs with his club in the Champions League and with his national team in the European Championship.
“This is the best moment in my life,” Ronaldo said. “After winning the Champions League with Real, the Euro 2016 with Portugal and now having my contract extended, it’s a dream year. This is too special. Life is good, I’m telling you.”
The deal, expected to protect Ronaldo’s status as the world’s highest paid footballer, will keep him tied to the European champions until he is 36 but will not be his last, the Portugal captain said on Monday.
The 31-year-old forward joined Real in 2009 and is the European champions’ all-time leading scorer with 371 goals in 360 games. He has led Real to two Champions League titles and to a La Liga title, among other trophies.
“The numbers are impressive. I certainly never expected to make history at the best club in the world,” he said. “This new contract is a dream come true. But this is my penultimate contract.
“I want to end my career at Real. This is the club that is in my heart and I will always be linked to it. I want to continue making history for the best club in the world.”
Yet, despite his incredible achievements in a Real shirt, the length of the contract has been questioned with Ronaldo struggling to match his form of old so far this season.
Having failed to even register a shot on target in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Leganes, Ronaldo has now gone five games without a goal at the Bernabeu for the first time in his career and he thanked Real president Florentino Perez for his unwavering support.
“Football has no memory, but you (Perez) have a memory and so does Real Madrid and that makes me happy,” he said.
“This day is too special to talk about scoring or not scoring,” continued Ronaldo. “It is a little bit of a blip, but that is part of life. I know that in two, three weeks or a month Cristiano will be there as always.”
Ronaldo is the latest Real player to have his contract extended past 2020. The club recently reached new deals with Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Lucas Vazquez.
November 8th, 2016 DAWN News
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