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What's the story?
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has said that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player he ever signed for the Los Blancos.
In case you didn't know...
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a then-record £80 million fee from Manchester United in the summer transfer window of 2009.
The Portuguese international played 438 games during his nine-year spell with the Madrid, scoring 451 goals in the process. He helped the club win two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, two Supercopa de Espana, and four UEFA Champions League trophies, along with two UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups.
The 34-year attacker left the Madrid-based club to join Serie A side Juventus in the summer transfer window of 2018.
The heart of the matter
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid for new challenges and that the Portuguese is the best player he's ever signed for the Los Blancos.
He said:
"I think he already had it quite clear that he wanted new challenges.
"He used that moment to say it, but I think he'd been thinking about it for some time. He never created any problems during the nine years at Real Madrid, never once arriving late or anything.
"I think he's the best player I signed for Real Madrid. I always had a great relationship with him.
"We never had any problems, not even over money. We never talked about his [tax] debt."
"The president was asked if he'd spoken with Ronaldo since his move to Juventus. I don't speak about those private matters."
The 72-year-old also explained Zinedine Zidane's departure.
"He came to my office and told me.
When Zidane decided, there was no turning him around.
"Then the next day we decided to communicate it. At that time there weren't many coaches available.
"All those at clubs had contracts for some time. With [Julen] Lopetegui we wanted him to come after the World Cup.
"He wanted to announce it before the World Cup and we spoke with Luis Rubialesand he told us that we were getting a great coach, but then something happened in the afternoon and it all changed and they sacked him.
"Then we didn't speak with the federation more because he was sacked and we didn't have to pay a clause because he had been sacked."
What's next?
Real Madrid will take part in the International Champions Cup, which commences from July 16.
