Cristiano Ronaldo’s representatives are ready to begin talks with Manchester United over a new contract, even though he penned a five-year deal last year for $179,000 a week, reports Andy Hunter. United, however, want to wait until the end of this season before resuming talks.
Ronaldo, 23, is 19 months into the five-year contract, and according to Hunter his representatives “are looking for a new long-term deal from United in the region of the £160,000 [$239,000] a week Robinho receives at Manchester City.” Which is understandable given the threat of a recession.
United wants to wait until the summer of 2009 before starting talks, because it sees the key date as being the summer of 2010, at which point Ronaldo could buy himself out of the final two years of his current contract for around $18 million. The club doesn’t want to set a precedent by opening talks so soon. But the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes, “is believed to have already outlined to United what his client is seeking to remain out of [Real] Madrid’s clutches.”