Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is looking for a hike in his Real Madrid salary after seeing the mega contract Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears set to sign with French side Paris Saint-Germain.

 

The former Manchester United winger currently earns €12M a year and wants a new deal which should earn him €15M a year with the Spanish giants, according to El Mundo Deportivo.

 

However, Real Madrid will have to think twice before tabling such an offer to the forward as Spanish tax laws will create great problems for the Galacticos if they put forward such a deal.

 

Currently, there is only 24% tax applicable on Ronaldo’s wages according to a law established in 2003. The law, also known as the “Beckham law”, is about the tax on salaries of athletes from outside Spain and says that the government can charge 24% tax on a player’s salary for his first five years in Spain.

 

However, the law also states that once the player has completed his five years in Spain, the tax percentage chargeable on his salary will rise to 43%, while recent reports suggest that the Spanish government may further increase the tax gain to 52%.

 

This would mean that if Real Madrid table a €15M a year deal to the former World Player of the Year, then from 2014 onwards when the Portuguese’s five years in Spain are complete, the Bernabeu outfit will have to shell out an approximate €23M a year to cover the wages of the deadly striker.

 

It remains to be seen how the Real Madrid board will tackle this situation and whether the club will grant their best player’s wish or not, keeping in mind the repercussions the club may have to face come 2014.

 

Latest Features: