Real Madrid Deny Rumours of Dropping Cristiano Ronaldo's Release Clause to €120m

Real Madrid have rubbished claims made in the Spanish press, reporting that Los Blancos had dropped Cristiano Ronaldo's Madrid release clause from €1bn to €120m in order to facilitate a move for the Portuguese forward.

Every summer, Ronaldo's future gets thrown up into the air, and every summer, he seems to get a new contract at the end of it all. It seems to be happening once again with one not-so-subtle difference - Real seem happy for Ronaldo to go.

FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/GettyImages

That was, according to OK Diario, who recently claimed that the club had made a move to help Ronaldo leave the club, and had dropped his release clause down to €120m.

The report goes on to claim that this drop in the clause exempts the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, who would still have to pay the initial €1bn. Ok Diario explain that as a result of the lowered cost, a lot of interest came the way of the player's agent Jorge Mendes.

The likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Milan had made it clear that they were ready to make a move for the 33-year-old. Oddly, there was no mention of Manchester United.

However, according to Marca, this report is completely incorrect. The club have not altered his release clause in any way.

It's just another day over in Spain. Speculation like this is commonplace, and in reality, nobody knows what's going on with the Ronaldo saga. Many claim that he is simply after a new contract, other say he genuinely wants to leave.

MLADEN ANTONOV/GettyImages

We'll never know until something concrete actually happens. Until then, strap in and enjoy the speculative ride.