Real Madrid stunned as Ronaldo agrees to join Juventus

The Champions League holders expected to hold on to their star attacker despite recent rumours, but he is set to begin a new chapter in Italy
Real Madrid have been left shocked by Cristiano Ronaldo's decision to leave the European champions to join Juventus.

We can confirm the 33-year-old is close to completing a move to the Serie A side, having already reached an agreement over a four-year contract worth €30 million (£26.5m/$35m) per season.
Juventus still have to negotiate a fee with Madrid and are expected to have to pay upwards of €100m (£88m/$117m), but could go as high as €120m (£106m/$140.5m).

Although the prospect of the Portugal star leaving the Santiago Bernabeu outfit has only increased since he indicated he wanted to leave after his side beat Liverpool to win a third consecutive Champions League final , those in charge at Madrid have only recently started to take it seriously.
But Ronaldo is closer than ever to leaving and the Bianconeri are confident of landing a player they tried to sign from Sporting CP when he was 18 years old, only to see the move collapse because Marcelo Salas, offered in exchange for him, rejected the move to Portugal.
However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has admitted before that he admired Juve as a child and felt the respect of the fans after scoring with a stunning overhead kick when Madrid visited the Turin team in the Champions League.
Ronaldo sees Juventus as the ideal team to enhance his global reputation as he aims to dominate another of Europe’s top divisions and compete for another Champions League crown to add to the five he has won with United and Madrid.
Furthermore, the Blancos captain feels a lack of protection at Madrid. Reports of his unhappiness first arose last summer when A Bola reported his desire to leave amid his issues with the Spanish tax authorities, which he has agreed to settle with a €18.8 million (£16m/$22m) payoff .

The situation got worse as Ronaldo had a rough start to the season while Madrid were constantly reported to be looking for replacements for him.
This week, Madrid had to release statements denying reports they had made offers for Paris Saint-Germain stars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe .
Although Ronaldo has often said he is open to staying at Madrid until the end of his playing career, his relationship with the club has deteriorated and prompted him to find the love he seeks in Italy.

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RONALDO ENDS GOAL DROUGHT TO SAVE MISFIRING MADRID

The attacker scored for the very first time in the Primera Division in 2017-18 to save Los Blancos from a potentially damaging draw at Getafe.
It looked like another frustrating day for Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid. With time ticking away at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, Los Blancos were being held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe and the Portuguese had just missed a glorious opportunity. Two more points were slipping away.

Madrid started the day seven adrift of fierce rivals Barcelona in La Liga and Zinedine Zidane's side - in the Frenchman's 100th competitive match as coach - could ill afford to drop any more after disappointing draws at home to Valencia and Levante, and a shock defeat to Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu in recent weeks.
Luckily, Ronaldo was there to claim all three points. Having fired the wrong side of the post from just a few yards out just minutes earlier, the Portuguese picked himself up from that unbelievable miss to strike the winner with a fine angled drive five minutes from time.
Ronaldo had scored in 10 of his previous 12 league games against Getafe, including three hat-tricks, but the four-time Ballon d'Or winner was without a Primera Division strike to his name heading into this match and is still struggling to find his brilliant best since returning from a five-match domestic suspension.
Getafe, however, proved against Barcelona that they can be a tough nut to crack at the Coliseum, the Blaugrana winning their fixture there last month courtesy of an 82nd-minute strike by Paulinho.
Ultimately, Madrid prevailed by the same scoreline, thanks not only to Ronaldo's first league goal of the season (after Jorge Molina had levelled from an offside position for Getafe), but also a maiden Primera Division strike in 2017-18 from the returning Karim Benzema towards the end of an uneventful first period.

Real have had some difficulty in the absence of the French forward, particularly as Spain striker Alvaro Morata is no longer around to deputise following his summer sale to Chelsea, and it was a fantastic finish from the 29-year-old, who drew level with Madrid legend Paco Gento on 182 goals for the club.
While Benzema was out, there is no doubt too that Madrid missed Ronaldo's goals - both during his ban (for pushing the referee in the Clasico clash at Camp Nou in August) and also since his return.
But after 355 minutes without scoring in the Primera Division, his timely intervention on Saturday means Madrid moved to within four points of Barcelona ahead of the Catalans' tough trip to Atletico later on Saturday.

"It's a difficult ground to come to," Marcelo said afterwards. "Their players are very motivated against us. I don't know if their goal was offside, I am told it was, but it doesn't matter. We were able to read the match and we came through with the win."
Asked about Ronaldo, the Brazilian said: "We know what he can give us during a game. If he doesn't score, he still has a lot of credit. And when we need him to be there, he is."
And he was. Ronaldo's goal drought is over in La Liga and with Benzema back too, Real are capable of making up the early ground they've lost to Barcelona in what promises to be an intriguing title race.

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REVEALED: RONALDO AND NEYMAR CAN'T MATCH MAN UTD STARS POGBA AND LUKAKU IN UK SUMMER SHIRT SALES

The Red Devils have three players in the top five of Sports Direct's sales, with Lionel Messi is the highest player outside the Premier League.

Manchester United dominate UK shirt sales at retailer Sports Direct this summer, with mega stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar unable to come close to their top stars.
Newcastle United and Scotland star Matt Ritchie might not have broken any world transfer record, but the firm, which sponsors Newcastle’s St. James’ Park ground, claim that he is the 13th-most popular shirt name in the UK.

[ALSO READ]:PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFER WINDOW TO SHUT BEFORE SEASON STARTS

Man Utd stars Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku lead the way, with club-mate Marcus Rashford just sneaking into the top five. Eden Hazard of Chelsea is ranked third while Arsenal’s record signing Alexandre Lacazette comes in fourth.

The highest player who is not currently playing in the Premier League is Lionel Messi in eighth, while Ronaldo and Neymar come in 15th and 18th position respectively.

Alexis Sanchez’s contract dispute seems to have affected his popularity at Arsenal as he is ranked only 22nd by the retailer, behind Aston Villa’s John Terry, the leading Championship player, in 21st.

Alexis’ team-mate Mesut Ozil, who is also a year away from being a free agent, is ranked 20th.

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WHICH PLAYER SELLS THE MOST SHIRTS IN THE UK?

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Rank*	Player Name	Club
1	Paul Pogba	Manchester United
2	Romelu Lukaku	Manchester United
3	Eden Hazard	Chelsea
4	Alexandre Lacazette	Arsenal
5	Marcus Rashford	Manchester United
6	Harry Kane	Tottenham
7	Sadio Mane	Liverpool
8	Lionel Messi	Barcelona
9	Philippe Coutinho	Liverpool
10	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	Manchester United
11	Dele Alli	Tottenham
12	Roberto Firmino	Liverpool
13	Matt Ritchie	Newcastle
14	Ander Herrera	Manchester United
15	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid
16	Henrikh Mkhitaryan	Manchester United
17	Dwight Gayle	Newcastle
18	Neymar	PSG
19	N'Golo Kante	Chelsea
20	Mesut Ozil	Arsenal

*Source: Sports Direct

• PREMIER LEAGUE
 
• M. RITCHIE
 
• MANCHESTER UNITED
 
• REAL MADRID
 
• SWANSEA CITY V NEWCASTLE UNITED
 
• SWANSEA CITY
 
• NEWCASTLE UNITED
 
• WTF

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LA LIGA FIXTURES: BARCELONA HOST REAL BETIS AS REAL MADRID TRAVEL TO DEPORTIVO ON OPENING WEEKEND

Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. will begin the defence of their title on the road, while Barca open their campaign at Camp Nou
Real Madrid will face Deportivo La Coruna on the first day of the 2017-18 La Liga season, it has been announced, while Barcelona will host Real Betis.
Bet on La Liga's title race!
The two giants of Spanish football are first scheduled to face off on the weekend of December 20 at Santiago Bernabeu.
And they will not come face-to-face again in the league until the 36th week of the 38-round campaign when the champions visit Camp Nou on the weekend of May 6.
Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, will start their campaign against Girona FC at home, and Sevilla will play Espanyol.
So far, only the first weekend of Liga fixtures have been confirmed, with Malaga facing Eibar and Athletic Club hosting Getafe.

Elsewhere, Leganes will play Deportivo Alaves, Celta Vigo will face Real Sociedad, Villarreal play Levante and Valencia host Las Palmas.
Real triumped in Spain last season, winning La Liga by three points from Barca.
Lionel Messi and Co. scored a massive 116 goals in 38 games but were not able to catch Los Blancos; Atletico Madrid finished third, an eventual 15 points behind city rivals Real.

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