Real Madrid president downplays Ronaldo's exit talk

Madrid [Spain], June 20 (ANI): Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has played down talks that Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving the Santiago Bernabeu club anytime soon, saying that no team has so far made a bid for their star striker. Perez further insisted that Ronaldo, who has a release clause of £1 billion, is at `ease` in Real Madrid. "All I can say is that Cristiano Ronaldo has a contract with Madrid. He always told me he is at ease in Real Madrid. Ronaldo is in a major tournament with his country and until that is over I cannot talk to him," goal.com quoted Perez as saying. Perez assured the fans that the Portugal international would be honouring his contract with Real Madrid while insisting that he would contact the star striker only after the conclusion of Portugal's Confederations Cup campaign. "The clause for Cristiano is £1bn. We have not had an offer for Cristiano... the Sheikh at PSG is a friend of mine and he hasn't called me nor have we talked. This is all very strange. Cristiano is a good guy, I will have to talk with Cristiano and see what's happening. I will always defend Cristiano as a person and as a footballer. He's a very good person," he said. Outraged at being unfairly treated by Spanish tax authorities, Ronaldo had earlier expressed his intentions to leave Real Madrid and Spain. Ronaldo was livid over being singled out for disproportionate treatment after the Spanish prosecutors accused him of defrauding the authorities of €14.7m (£12.8m). Insisting that everyone must comply with their tax obligations, the Madrid president remained hopeful that Ronaldo would will meet his tax requirements and that all the confusion would be cleared up soon. "Cristiano definitely didn't want us to pay his fine... he isn't like that. I'm sure that Cristiano meets all his tax requirements; it must be a confusion that will be cleared up. Cristiano is not angry about who has to pay his fine. The only thing I know is that Cristiano is very angry with the treatment he has received in the press," he added. "I believe everyone must comply with their tax obligations and I know that Cristiano always does things the right way," Perez added. Earlier, Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane and skipper Sergio Ramos had phoned the star striker to convince him to remain at Santiago Bernabeu. The French manager had told Ronaldo that Real Madrid team needs him and his winning mentality to guide the club to many more victories. Ronaldo has helped Real win the Champions League thrice, scoring twice in last month's final as they became the first club to retain the title, and he is also the competition's record goal scorer with 105 strikes. He has also helped his team to win two La Liga titles after joining it on transfer from Manchester United for a ten record 80 million pounds in 2009. (ANI)