Cristiano Ronaldo has quashed any rumours of a potential Real Madrid exit by confirming that he's in talks with the President, Florentino Perez, and the club over the extension of his contract.
The 31-year-old Portuguese superstar has been linked with multiple clubs over the past few seasons – including a potential return to Manchester United – but with him having come out and ensured fans that he's staying, any lingering doubts should all but clear.
Speaking to Portuguese news agency, Lusa, Ronaldo said, "I spoke to the president on the phone and when I get to Madrid, we will talk about it.
"Obviously, it's something I want, I have mentioned it many times, and the club also wants it. But we only spoke briefly, and there will be more concrete things to come."
The former Sporting Lisbon forward has spent nine years in Madrid and has excelled in every one of them. He will start this season, however, a few weeks after the others given the injury that was sustained during the finals of the UEFA European Championships – which his country eventually won.
Real Madrid open their season with a UEFA Super Cup fixture against last season's UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla. The match is to be held on the 9th of August and Ronaldo confirmed that he will definitely miss the game.
"I am completely ruled out for the ninth [August] because my return date is the 10th, there is no chance," he said.
Real Madrid were heavily linked with losing one of Ronaldo and Gareth Bale this summer after Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United declared that they were in the market for a superstar. The former club lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free to Manchester United while Jose Mourinho's new team are reportedly deep in negotiations to sign Juventus and France superstar Paul Pogba - a Real Madrid target.
Zinedine Zidane has since shifted his focus and is said to be interested in signing a few players having only signed Alvaro Morata this summer. The club even missed out on signing Valencia's Andre Gomes - who eventually ended signing for Madrid's arch-rivals Barcelona.
