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The offseason saga continues.
If you haven't noticed, the wheels have been turning rather slowly for Real Madrid's offseason objectives. Aside from Dani Carvajal's return home and Casemiro's signing, there has yet to be anything to report signings-wise. We continue to wait on clarity or confirmation on many of the star-studded rumors we've been mulling over for months now, including the arrival of our next manager. Thankfully, Carlo Ancelotti's arrival is all but assured with several reports that the announcement is coming soon.
But perhaps more important than all of that talk is Cristiano Ronaldo's future. The player's current contract is set to expire in 2015. The club runs the risk of [cover your ears] letting Ronaldo go, and for relatively cheap if the player and club decide to part ways in the near future without a renewal.
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Ronaldo took to social media to dispel rumors that an agreement was already in place:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>All the news about my renewal with Real Madrid are false.</p>— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cristiano/statuses/345177023691517953">June 13, 2013</a></blockquote>
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I, personally, hadn't heard any rumors of such renewal. But thank you for casting a little more doubt on the situation, Cris. The rumors I've seen surrounding Ronaldo have varied from the tireless ones of his Manchester United return to the head-scratching ones that consider Monaco a possibility.
President Florentino Perez has remained optimistic of coming to an agreement with Cristiano, or at least has spoken in a way that keeps the fanbase optimistic. His recent appearance on Punto Pelota brought reassuring words from the president, such as "we want for him to retire at Real Madrid" and that "we will win la 'Decima' with Cristiano."
The longer this situation drags out, the more negotiating leverage that sways into Cristiano's favor. At this point, all indications are that both sides do want to reach an agreement, but I think Cristiano is biding his time and perhaps waiting to see the direction that the club takes next season with a new mindset and new manager before officially inking a renewal.