Just how much is Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid worth as a football player? His agent, Jorge Mendes, apparently knows the answer and it's a staggering $1.2 Billion (£785 million).
Mendes made the "pricey" revelations in the midst of speculations that Manchester United is hell-bent on luring back to its fold, the services of the Portuguese forward from Real Madrid, reports Manchester Evening News.
Ronaldo has reportedly become unhappy with his team following the departure of Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso to other teams.
Di Maria signed a $96 million (£59.7 million) deal in August with Manchester United, confirms the Manchester United team website. Alonso, on the other hand, transferred to Bayern Munich for $12.9 million (£8 million) also in August, as reported by The Guardian.
Ronaldo was even quoted as saying: "anything is possible" during summer when asked about rumors of him possibly moving to another team, the Manchester Evening News cited.
Mendes doused cold water on the rumors by saying that any deal is "impossible" because of the astronomical bid needed to release Ronaldo from his contract with Real Madrid, the Manchester Evening News noted.
"I no longer get calls from anyone because people know that it is impossible to take Cristiano from Madrid. It's not worth for them calling to ask for it. The price (that is) stated in his release clause is $1.2 billion (£785 million)," bares Mendes.
In a report by the Mirror, Ronaldo's agent was quoted as saying: "He has the affection of Manchester United because his heart was there for six years and he has a lot of respect for the people that show him affection. But he is with his club now and his Real Madrid fans until death."
Ronaldo left Manchester United in 2009 to sign a world record deal of $128.7 million (£80 million) with Real Madrid.
At 29 years old, there's certainly plenty of mileage left on the tank of Ronaldo to continue his run as one of the best, if not the best football player in the world today.
Manchester Evening News reported that Mendes issued his latest declaration on his prized soccer player just days after insisting that Ronaldo would retire in his Real Madrid uniform.
Last week, Mendes was quoted as saying: "Cristiano is very happy with Real Madrid. He has always been very happy. He's going to break all the records with Real Madrid and he's going to retire here."
