Report: Cristiano Ronaldo Rejected Incentivised Real Madrid Contract in December

Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly turned down Real Madrid's offer of an incentivised contract in December and agreed to delay negotiations over a new deal until this summer.

Manu Sainz of AS wrote that Ronaldo is in line to increase his €22 million (£19.2 million)-per-year salary to bring him closer in earnings to Neymar. However, his place in Madrid no longer looks cemented after comments he made after Saturday's UEFA Champions League final, per AS.

The Portugal captain is in a strong bargaining position after he helped lead Los Blancos to a 3-1 win over Liverpool in the Champions League final. It marked their third successive title win in Europe's premier competition.

According to Sainz, Ronaldo was aggrieved when Real president Florentino Perez reneged on an agreement. The club's general manager, Jose Angel Sanchez, then moved to salve the player's concerns in December with a new deal tabled.

It was then that he rejected the offer of a €9 million (£7.9 million) salary raise, which depended on the team winning trophies and the attacker himself claiming individual awards.

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Even with that increase, Ronaldo would still fall behind the €37 million (£32.4 million) Neymar rakes in per year at Paris Saint-Germain after tax.

Ronaldo spoke to the media after clinching his fifth Champions League winners' medal and gave the impression his time at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu was coming to a close:

"Now it's time to enjoy this. In the next few days I'll give the fans, who have been by my side, an answer. It's been great being at Real Madrid.

"I'll speak in the next few days. Now it's time to enjoy the moment. The future of any player isn't important. We've made history."

Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol reacted to the suggestion Ronaldo was due to leave Real and said money was at the core of his concerns:

That suggests Los Blancos can solve any alleged issues and tie their star forward down to a new deal as long as the financial side of things are to his liking. However, he said that's not the case, per Marca (h/t Goal's Chris Burton):

"Money is not the problem.

"I have won five Champions Leagues and five Ballons d'Or. I had already made history, but now even more.

"I'm not upset because I know what I give to the club. I don't want to erase this unique moment, with my colleagues who are champions.

"I cannot guarantee anything. I'm not going to hide, in the next few days I'll talk... Life is not just about glory."

The Manchester Evening News' United account questioned whether recent comments indicated a return to Old Trafford could be on the horizon:

Needless to say, Saturday's achievement will have convinced Real's board they need to more adequately reward the 33-year-old, who again appears open to leaving.

Ronaldo looks to be playing hard ball if his remarks on Saturday are a ploy to engineer an even more lucrative new deal, but Saturday's European victory and his hand in their success of recent years may be the proof he's worth the investment regardless.