Cristiano Ronaldo ready to quit Real Madrid and Spanish football over tax probe, according to reports

REAL MADRID star Cristiano Ronaldo wants to quit Spanish football, according to reports in Portugal.

Newspaper A Bola claims the 32-year-old is angry at his treatment by Spanish tax authorities – prosecutors have accused him of defrauding the authorities of 14.7million euros (£12.8m) – and has told team-mates of his intentions.

Ronaldo is contesting the allegations and his agency Gestifute released a statement earlier this week which said: “‘There is no tax evasion scheme … There has never been any hiding nor any intention to hide anything.”

On Thursday Ronaldo, who only signed a new five-year contract in November, posted a picture of himself with his fingers to his lips on Instagram with the caption “Sometimes the best answer it’s to be quiet”.

The potential availability of the Portugal international, one of the most marketable players in the world, would alert a number of top clubs plus big-spending Chinese Super League sides looking to make a statement.