AS Monaco have dropped out of the battle for Cristiano Ronaldo, leaving Manchester United a clear run at the Real Madrid star.
The Mail on Sunday says his representative Jorge Mendes made a new deal with Real last summer on the basis that Ronaldo could be released at the age of 30 to play for Monaco on a 'netto deal', meaning cash without tax.
It was effectively 'platinum pension' for all a concerned.
But things have gone wrong for the Russian owner of Monaco, Dmitry Rybolovlev, which is why Ronaldo is likely to leave Real Madrid next summer for his old employers.
