It was evidently very effective.
As you’re probably aware, Cristiano Ronaldo enjoys flirting with other clubs. Most of the time he does so in search of an improved contract at Real Madrid, but occasionally it will be because Ronaldo doesn’t feel appreciated enough and craves more individual recognition.
Whatever his motive for courting other clubs – normally PSG and Manchester United – he always ends up staying at Real Madrid. This is because inevitably, his threats to leave make the Real Madrid board panic and offer him a hefty wage increase. Although back in 2012, the tables turned as Madrid president Florentino Perez threatened Ronaldo with making his worst nightmare come true if he decided to leave.
Ronaldo was keen on a move to PSG six years ago. According to a report in France Football, Ronaldo felt ‘The French will be so happy that I play in their Championship that the media will campaign in my favour for the Ballon d’Or’, as reported on Mail Sport.
Florentino Perez was of course not keen on losing his most prized asset, and told Ronaldo:
“Find me a club that puts €200million on the table, and with the money, I’ll pay the release clause of Messi to take your place.”
In the hyper inflated transfer market of 2018, that €200m sum doesn’t sound unfeasible, PSG did of course pay more than that for Neymar last summer, but in 2012 that was unheard of. It was unlikely that even if Ronaldo wanted a move, that even PSG would have come in and triggered his release clause.
On top of that, the threat of replacing him with Lionel Messi will have sent shivers down Ronaldo’s spine. The two players have dominated football over the past decade; the last time a player other than Messi or Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or was Kaká in 2007.
Clearly the threat worked, as Ronaldo stayed at Real Madrid, won three Champions League trophies and the Ballon d’Or on three more occasions too.
