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Monday Kickoff: Ronaldo reportedly agrees on new Madrid deal; Man United reject Rooney bid; and more

CristianoRonaldo1-LAGalaxyICC (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t ready to leave the Santiago Bernabeu just yet.

Real Madrid have reportedly come to a verbal agreement with Ronaldo for a new contract, extending his currently deal which is up in 2015. Ronaldo’s new contract will make him the highest paid player in all of Spain at €17 million ($22.56 million) per season for the next five years.

Rumors have persisted all summer that the Portuguese international could be on his way out of the Spanish capital, frustrated at his contract situation and lack of titles. But Ronaldo has the backing of President Florentino Perez and the new contract should help alleviate some issues, like image rights for the player.

Despite the reports from the Spanish press, Ronaldo has yet to confirm that any deal is done. The reports also state that Real Madrid won’t announce the contract officially until later this month.

Here are some more stories to kick off your week:

MAN UNITED REJECT SECOND ROONEY BID

Manager Jose Mourinho and Chelsea have raised the stakes in the Wayne Rooney transfer saga, but it seems a higher bid still isn’t enough.

Reports out of England state that Chelsea have submitted a new bid of £25 million plus add-ons for Rooney, but the move was soundly rejected by the Man United board. The offer is £5 million more than the last bid, which was also shot down.

Rooney has been rumored to be out the door at Old Trafford all summer long, but Man United and David Moyes seem serious about keeping him at the club to play alongside Robin Van Persie. In fact, Rooney is expected to be in the squad that travels to Sweden on Monday to face AIK Stockholm on Tuesday. (UPDATE: Rooney was left off the traveling squad for the match due to a what Man United says is a “shoulder injury.”)

Many think that Rooney is in need of a new challenge, after scoring just 12 goals in 27 English Premier League matches last season.

GIRONA PRESIDENT CLAIMS OFFER TO FIX MATCH

In a shocking development in Spain, a club president has stated to the press that he was asked to pay for a fix.

Joaquim Boadas, President of Girona FC, a second-division club, confirmed the news at a press conference, saying that his captain at the time, Dani Mallo, had approached him to say that someone on Xerez, ahead of the Girona vs. Xerez match, reached out and said for €120,000, Xerez would lose the match.

Boadas also claimed that Racing Santander tried to sign an agreement with Girona over the transfer of a player that included compensation from sources that Boadas wasn’t farmiliar with. In both cases, Boadas soundly rejected the deals and went straight to the President of the LFP (Spanish Football Association), Javier Tebas.

QUICK KICKS

Tottenham have officially confirmed the signing of Roberto Soldado from Valencia. (REPORT)

Mario Götze has returned to first team training with Bayern Munich after an extended recovery period for his injured thigh. (REPORT)

Loic Remy will be a Magpie after Newcastle agreed to take the QPR forward on-loan for the season. (REPORT)

For the second consecutive time, Arsenal have lost the Emirates Cup, drawing with Napoli, 2-2, and falling to Galatasaray, 2-1. (REPORT)

AS Roma is expected to announce the signing of Arsenal winger Gervinho for nearly £7 million on Monday. (REPORT)

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What do you think of these reports? Do you see Ronaldo staying at Real Madrid through 2018? Do you believe Chelsea wants Rooney or just wants to cause trouble? Do you see any punishments being handed to Xerez or Racing?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. CR7 should not renew the contract so he comes to MLS in 2015, when he’s 30. Will RBNY or LAG pay him more than 17M Euros, that is the question. He will get more than with endorsements, and branding, etc…

    I think CR7 being 33 and coming to MLS will be too late.

    Reply
    • Roma are trying to sell De Rossi, so finances won’t be an issue. And I would take Lamela over Gervinho any day. But I think Lamela tends to stay out wide while Gervinho plays more centrally. I could be wrong about that though.

      Reply
      • Gervinho is also a wide player. I think that he’s a slightly flawed player, for lack of a better term. He was a bit disappointing but may turn it around in another system.

      • Gervinho is a very good winger but has trouble finishing. He may be better in Italy, but I guess it will depend on how he responds to the heightened racism there. Players like Balotelli and Altidore seem to thrive in that environment…

  2. Rooney is on his way out, as signified by the succession of fake injuries conjured up to prevent him from playing in any preseason games. Should be interesting. He’s had an excellent career but never quite lived up to the initial expectations. But then again, what English player ever does?

    Reply
    • Lampard, and Gerrard, but that may be it. It’s a bit sad to see the golden generation fading without any national team silverware. I think that Rooney is still quality though.

      Reply
    • Having a 30 million pound transfer offer by Jose Mourinho for Rooney’s services turned down because the top club in England deems it too low or wants to keep him means Rooney’s met initial expectations and then some.

      Dude, you gotta do better than that with your comments.

      Reply
    • Way off base. Rooney is World Class.

      I don’t think we can solely judge Rooney’s performance on goals alone any longer. He is a starting player for any club in the world even with a reduced goal total. I think the problem may be that Rooney judges Rooney by his goal total, and playing second striker doesn’t suit his internal dialog. It doesn’t change the fact that he is outstanding at whatever he does on the pitch.

      Reply
  3. CNN headline: “Football great Donovan dies”

    After cleaning up keyboard, I realized CNN doesn’t call soccer “football.”

    Art Donovan, age 88. Not Landy.

    Reply

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