Real Madrid managed to sign Ronaldo from Manchester United for £80million back in 2009, with the Portugal international since establishing himself as a Bernabeu icon. The 33-year-old, who is currently strutting his stuff in Italy with Juventus, enjoyed nine fine years over in La Liga. Real Madrid won four Champions League titles during Ronaldo’s stint in Spain, while also scooping two La Liga crowns along the way. However, Goal claim that club president Perez actually nearly STOPPED the deal with Manchester United.

Back in 2009, Real were aggressively pursuing the player’s signature. But, instead of Perez, it was instead Ramon Calderon who was overseeing ongoings at the Bernabeu at the time. Calderon lost out to Perez in the Real Madrid presidency battle that year, however. And Goal claim that Perez was contemplating whether to scrap the agreement they had with Manchester United for Ronaldo. However, Jorge Valdano ultimately convinced the Los Blancos supremo to carry through with it instead.

Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez nearly stopped Cristiano Ronaldo joining from Man Utd

Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo could have stayed at Man Utd

As a result, though, the report claims that Perez and Ronaldo never had a smooth-sailing relationship. It is said that they did, though, have a mutual truce. The United icon delivered on the pitch, while Perez would reward him with increasingly lucrative contracts. This year, though, both parties decided enough was enough. And Ronaldo has admitted that his relationship with the Real Madrid chief was not as good as he had hoped.

Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo had a rocky Florentino Perez relationship