'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has been on the receiving end of severe criticism from football fans across the globe following his reported ‘mistreatment’ of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Until now it had been unclear why the Portuguese departed the Santiago Bernabeu after enjoying a trophy-laden stint with Los Blancos. However, in a recent interview, Ronaldo said he left Madrid because he felt was no longer valued by Perez.
According to him, he felt less appreciated by the Madrid president with each passing year despite continuously demonstrating his quality.
“He only ever looked at me as a business relationship,' Ronaldo said. 'I know it. What he told me never came from the heart,” Ronaldo told France Football magazine.
“I felt it inside the club, especially from the president, that they no longer considered me the same way that they did in the start. In the first four or five years there, I had the feeling of being 'Cristiano Ronaldo'. Less afterwards.
“The president looked at me through eyes that didn't want to say the same thing, as if I was no longer indispensable to them, if you know what I mean.
“That's what made me think about leaving. Sometimes I'd look at the news, where they were saying I was asking to leave. There was a bit of that, but the truth is that I always had the impression that the president would not hold me back.”
The former Manchester United star went on to debunk reports that he joined Juventus in order to double his wages.
According to him, he would have opted for a move to China if money was really his motivation.
“If it had all been about money, I'd have moved to China, where I would have earned five times as much than here [at Juventus] or at Real,” Ronaldo said.
“I did not come to Juve for the money. I earned the same in Madrid, if not more. The difference is that, at Juve, they really wanted me. They told me that and made it clear. They showed me that.”
Ronaldo’s latest revelations have sparked a war on Twitter with many football fans slamming Perez for his treatment of the Portuguese.
Here are some of the best tweets from angry fans:
