Manchester City Made Staggering £158m Bid To Sign Real Madrid Star Cristiano Ronaldo This Summer

Manchester City made a phenomenal £158m bid for Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, according to Spanish newspaper AS - a publication with strong links to Los Blancos.

The Premier League Champions were prepared to make Ronaldo the highest payed footballer on the planet, with a contract worth £15m per year, but the bid was rejected by Real president Florentino Perez.

It is not the first time Man City owner Sheikh Mansour has tried to buy the Portuguese superstar after offering £142m for the 27-year-old last year and he is reportedly desperate to land Ronaldo before UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations come into force in 2014.

Mansour and Perez will come face-to-face twice before the turn of the year, with Real hosting City in the Champions League group stage on 18 September, with the second meeting in Manchester on 21 November.

Ronaldo recently admitted he was ‘sad’ at the Bernebeu but is yet to explain why, amid reports that he was forced to play on the anniversary of his father’s death and that he wants more money from the La Liga Champions.

City are keen to take advantage of Ronaldo’s unease to bring him back to the Premier League but it is understood that Ronaldo is reluctant to join the Eastlands club after spending six years with their fierce rivals Manchester United.