Cristiano Ronaldo
Despite his reported unhappiness, Cristiano Ronaldo has still scored 19 goals in 21 appearances for Real Madrid this season. Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo’s level of unhappiness at Real Madrid is such that he is looking to quit the La Liga club in the summer, according to Spanish publication Marca. The news is said to come as a particular blow to Madrid’s president Florentino Perez, with an exit for Ronaldo sure to negatively impact his chances of gaining reelection next summer.

Speculation over a potential rift between Ronaldo and Madrid first began in September when the Portuguese forward refused to celebrate when scoring two goals in a match against Granada. Ronaldo later said that he was “sad” about a professional issue within the club.

It is believed that the 27-year-old is unhappy at what he feels is a lack of public support from the club, particularly when it comes to the matter of awards. Marca claims that Perez will try to heal this rift by accompanying Ronaldo to the Ballon d’Or gala on January 7, where the FIFA World player of the Year will be awarded.

There has also been talk of problems occurring over negotiations for a new contract to tie Ronaldo to a new contract beyond 2015.

With Real Madrid trailing Barcelona by 11 points in the La Liga standings and rumors rife that manager Jose Mourinho will departing in the summer, Ronaldo may follow suit.

Ronaldo arrived at Madrid in a world record £80 million transfer back in 2009 from Manchester United and Old Trafford has repeatedly been mentioned as a possible destination should the 2008 Champions League winner leave the Spanish capital.

However, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson recently claimed that Ronaldo was “unbuyable.” Certainly Madrid are unlikely to accept a reduction on what they paid for the former World Player of the Year, a fee that it is hard to envisage United paying.

Realistically the only clubs that could afford such a transfer fee are the billionaire-backed outfits like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Anzhi Makhachkala.

There has been little talk of a move to City, though, and Ronaldo may have reservations about joining the great rivals of his former club.

In late October, Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that PSG were targeting both Ronaldo and Mourinho and were prepared to pay Madrid in the region of €100 million (£80m) for the former.

While PSG would also reportedly be prepared to pay Ronaldo a salary of €18 million (£14.5m), it remains to be seen whether he would be willing to move to a league that isn’t regarded on the same level as the likes of Spain, England, Germany and Italy.

The same issue would also potentially be a stumbling block to the idea of Ronaldo moving to Russia and Anzhi.

So, regardless of whether the speculation of Ronaldo’s desire to leave Madrid proves true, there does not yet appear to be a viable next destination for the goal-scorer extraordinaire.