Ronaldo agrees to five-year extension

Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed to extend his contract with Real Madrid until 2021, the European champion confirmed on Sunday.

Ronaldo, Real's all-time leading scorer with 371 goals in 360 games, was set to sign the new deal on Monday at Santiago Bernabeu stadium, ahead of a media conference.

Ronaldo is reported to be in line for an increase on his current salary, estimated to be $23 million, making him the club's salary leader.

The Portuguese forward has collected one La Liga title, two King's Cups and two Champions League titles since joining Real from Manchester United in 2008 for a then world record $100 million, but he has had an inconsistent start to the current campaign.

Ronaldo failed to hit the target in a near anonymous display in Real's 3-0 win over Leganes on Sunday to mark five games without scoring at Bernabeu, his longest run without a goal in front of Real's fans since he joined the club.

His last goal at Bernabeu came against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Sept 14. His only goal there in the league was against Osasuna on Sept 10.

Ronaldo has scored seven goals in the league and Champions League this term and made amends for his worst start to a season since joining Real by notching a hat-trick in last week's 4-2 win at Alaves.

The 31-year-old missed a series of chances against Legia Warsaw last Wednesday, however, and was seen venting his fury at Gareth Bale for not passing to him in the second half against Leganes.

"Nothing is up with Cristiano, we always want him to score and at Alaves he scored three and that's that," said coach Zinedine Zidane.

"He always wants to score and it doesn't matter if he doesn't score once in a while. I think he's playing well, working hard for the team. He obviously always wants to score, but I think he's relaxed about it."

Despite the player's current inconsistency, Zidane expressed his delight at Ronaldo extending his stay at the club.

"I'm happy because he's the type of player who deserves to finish his career with Real Madrid," said Zidane.

(China Daily 11/08/2016 page22)