Real Madrid's failure to offer Cristiano Ronaldo financial support during his struggles with the Spanish tax authorities was one of the key factors which ultimately convinced him to leave, according to a report in Spain.


El Mundo, reported vis ​AS​, claim that Ronaldo felt alone in the Spanish capital and a lack of trust in anyone meant that he paid €25,000 a month to a personal driver, who he held in the utmost confidence.

Juventus v US Sassuolo - Serie A

Ronaldo also spent most of his free time training, to the extent that people within the club worried that he was overworking himself.


His problems with the tax authorities also weighed heavy on his mind. On 15 June, Ronaldo was sentenced to a suspended two-year jail sentence for tax evasion and was fined €18.8m.


A lack of support during this time proved decisive in his eventual decision to leave ​Real. The club had promised Ronaldo a new contract after the 2017 Champions League final but this never materialised.

Ronaldo had hoped that Real would renew his contract, considering the payments that he had already made and was yet to make in his tax case. He understood that Barcelona had done similarly with Lionel Messi when he was also in trouble with the authorities.


Madrid wanted to stay out of Ronaldo's financial affairs and the Portuguese superstar felt betrayed, deciding there and then that he would look for a move elsewhere, which eventually materialised when he joined ​Juventus for €100m this summer.


After a slow start in Turin, Ronaldo has found his feet, scoring three goals and providing four assists in his last four Serie A games.