Real Madrid confirm they have accepted £88m deal to sell superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus after president flew in to his Greek hotel to finalise stunning four-year deal that will pay him £500,000-a-week

These years in Real Madrid, and in this city of Madrid, have been possibly the happiest of my life.

I only have feelings of enormous gratitude for this club, for this hobby and for this city. I can only thank all of them for the love and affection I have received.

However, I believe that the time has come to open a new stage in my life and that is why I have asked the club to accept transferring me. I feel that way and I ask everyone, and especially our followers, to please understand me.

They have been absolutely wonderful for 9 years. They have been 9 unique years. It has been an exciting time for me, full of consideration but also hard because Real Madrid is of a very high demand, but I know very well that I will never forget that I have enjoyed football here in a unique way.

I have had fabulous teammates in the field and in the dressing room, I have felt the warmth of an incredible crowd and together we have won 3 Champions in a row and 4 Champions in 5 years. And with them also, on an individual level, I have the satisfaction of having won 4 Gold Balls and 3 Gold Boots. All during my time in this immense and extraordinary club.

Real Madrid has conquered my heart, and that of my family, and that is why more than ever I want to say thank you: thanks to the club, the President, the directors, my colleagues, all the technicians, doctors, physios and incredible workers that make everything work and that are pending every detail tirelessly.

Thank you infinitely once more to our fans and thanks also to Spanish Football. During these 9 exciting years I have had great players in front of me. My respect and my recognition for all of them.

I have reflected a lot and I know that the time has come for a new cycle. I’m leaving but this shirt, this shield and the Santiago Bernabéu will continue to always feel as my own wherever I am.

Thanks to all and, of course, as I said that first time in our stadium 9 years ago: Hala Madrid! 

Ronaldo leaves a legacy behind at Real Madrid littered with smashed records and a haul of trophies.

He is the Spanish club’s all-time top scorer with 450 goals in all competitions and won two La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies with them.

‘For Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo will always be one of its greatest symbols and a unique reference for the generations to come,’ Real Madrid’s statement added.

‘Real Madrid will always be his home’.

While there was success, Ronaldo also had, at times, a turbulent relationship with Real Madrid’s club hierarchy, particularly club president Florentino Perez.

The first signs of an uneasy relationship emerged when he declared on the pitch in 2012, ‘I’m sad and the club know why’, and they reared their head again after the 4-1 win over Juventus in the 2017 Champions League final when newspaper A Bola said he had decided to leave.

Ronaldo’s complaints, said to be centred around Real’s reluctance to hand him a pay rise and a perceived lack of support for him in his legal battle against the Spanish tax authorities, got little sympathy among fans or the Spanish media, however.

Their patience wore even thinner when he hogged the narrative after Real had beaten Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final in Kiev by saying ‘it was beautiful to play for Real Madrid’ and re-aired his dissatisfaction with the club.

It was an unedifying yet strangely fitting end to a glorious yet bumpy marriage between one of the sport’s greatest ever players and one of its most storied clubs.

Ronaldo will rightly be remembered as one of Real’s best ever players, although he never quite enjoyed the God-like status he craved.

Ronaldo’s first game for Juventus could come against his former club when the two meet in the International Champions Cup.

The two play each other on August 4 at the FedEx Field in Washington.

Former Real Madrid team-mates were quick to post their own tributes to Ronaldo.

Defender Sergio Ramos tweeted: ‘Cristiano, your goals, your numbers and everything we’ve won together speak for themselves. You have earned a special place in the history of

‘As Madridistas we’ll remember you always. It’s been a pleasure to play alongside you, bicho. Big hig and good luck!’

Sami Khedira, who played with Ronaldo at Real Madrid before joining Juventus in 2015, added: ‘Benvenuto a Torino, Cristiano.

‘We had a great time together in Madrid, I can‘t wait to get back to work with you! Today is a special day for Juventus.’

Juventus striker Paulo Dybala also sent a tweet to Ronaldo welcoming him to Turin.

‘Bienvenido Cristiano. Bevenuto. Bemvindo!’ he wrote, which translates as: ‘Welcome, Cristiano. Welcome.’

Former Manchester United team-mate, Gary Neville, tweeted: ‘Stunned! Never believed a word of it! Expected a new RM deal.’