Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract extension at Real Madrid is still waiting to be finalised due to a row over its length, reports the Mirror.
The Portuguese superstar has had the financial side of his new deal agreed for some time, with a basic after-tax salary starting at €21million (£18.5m) and plenty of add-ons.
But Ronaldo, who has declared many times in recent weeks that he wants to retire a Real Madrid player, is holding out for a contract until 2021.
Directors of the Bernabeu club that have the ear of president Florentino Perez are united in their belief that the 31-year-old should only be afforded four years at most.
The former Man United man is one of the world’s best players but has suffered more injuries over the last couple of seasons and is currently enduring one of his worst goalscoring struggles since arriving in the Spanish capital in 2009.
Cristiano has played 678 minutes in La Liga and the Champions League this season, netting just four goals.
That average of a goal every 169.5 minutes is far below the level that has come to be expected of him in a white shirt.
While Ronaldo’s contract is stalling for now, Luka Modric this week penned a new deal with the European champions.
The Croatian playmaker has enjoyed four successful years at the Santiago Bernabeu and follows Toni Kroos in extending his stay at the club he joined from Tottenham in 2012.
Modric has played 119 matches with Real in La Liga, including eight goals and 20 assists.
Real forked out £30million in 2012 for the diminutive midfielder and have seen an excellent return on their investment with Modric crucial to Champions League wins both last season and in 2014.
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