Cristiano Ronaldo set for final Clasico at home in La Liga as Real Madrid superstar heads towards Bernabeu exit door

Cristiano Ronaldo will play his last home league Clasico next Saturday with his slow divorce from Real Madrid coming to an inevitable conclusion next May.

That’s the opinion of sources close to the Spanish club he joined in 2009 – and it’s a theory backed up by the fact that Real Madrid snubbed the London film Premiere of the player’s film last Monday.

Ronaldo goes into the game against Barcelona having failed to score in 12 of the 18 games he has played for club and country this season but the seeds of separation have more to do with the player’s relationship with the club than his form.

They are rooted in Real Madrid’s desire to cash-in on a player who will be 31 by the end of the season but would still command a huge fee in the transfer market.

The first cracks appeared in the Real – Ronaldo relationship at the end of last season when the player publicly called the club out for the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti.

Ronaldo tweeted: ‘Great coach and amazing person. Hope we work together next season’ along with a photograph of himself and Ancelotti before the sacking was confirmed.

Players and staff at the club already knew that Ancelotti would not be kept on and it was seen as a clear message to the president who had decided to fire the Italian and hire Rafa Benitez.

If the club thought Ronaldo was taking them on over Benitez’s appointment, the player interpreted the new manager’s comments in much the same way when Benitez made a point on several occasions in press conferences of refusing to say that he thought Ronaldo was the best player, first at the club, and then, that he had trained.

Source: DailyMail