Cristiano Ronaldo has a huge demand for Real Madrid

Posted Monday, December 18, 2017 by givemesport.com

Cristiano Ronaldo has given Real Madrid one huge condition as he prepares to enter contract talks.

The forward, now 32, will be very aware that his next deal almost certainly takes him beyond his peak years, leaving the upcoming discussions as some of the most important of his career.

His negotiating position is higher than a player of his age has arguably ever had - and the Portuguese superstar intends to take full advantage.

Ronaldo has enjoyed a sensational end to 2017 on an individual level. He was crowned as FIFA's player of the year in November, and then picked up his 5th Ballon d'Or a month later.

He then reiterated his current worth to Real in Abu Dhabi by scoring a stunning 30-yard freekick to win the Club World Cup.

Ronaldo will almost certainly go down as the greatest player in Real's illustrious history - a feat that's unimaginable for virtually every player there has ever been - but then their number 7 believes he's more than that, recently labelling himself as the greatest footballer of all time.

He was the player of 2017 and is in the running as the greatest ever, so it's no surprise that Cristiano is asking his club to recognise that fact.

And how does a club do that? By making him the highest paid player on the planet, according to Marca.

It was a title that Ronaldo once held, but recent contracts for his Ballon d'Or rivals Lionel Messi and Neymar have knocked him down to third place - and we know he won't be having that.

Messi's new contract is reportedly worth 50 million euros per season and Ronaldo, who only signed a new deal 13 months ago, feels he has proven he's worth more than that.

Whether Real are willing to give into his demands is also known - they're not.

Their talisman has another 3 and a half years left on a deal that the World Champions believe is abundant for any player and are hesitant to open up a dialogue over a new one.

We don't know if this will prove to be a sticking point for Ronaldo, or how much fight he's willing to put into it. If it proves to be a real issue for him, then Real have a problem on their hands, not wanting to upset their main man or find themselves incredibly out of pocket.

But then, as rumours over Neymar continue to heat up, maybe they've already found a replacement...