Cristiano Ronaldo is seeking a bumper new contract to remain on Real Madrid's books - less than a year after he penned a lucrative five-year deal.
The Portuguese megastar reportedly wants wage parity with Barcelona arch rival Lionel Messi, and has already sat down with Real to discuss a salary increase at some point in the near future.
Ronaldo's latest demand comes courtesy of Spanish journalist Eduardo Inda, who told TV show El Chiringuito (via the Daily Star) why the 32-year-old was eyeing contract negotiations with Los Blancos so soon after signing a long-term deal with them last November.
Inda said: "Cristiano Ronaldo will renew his contract with Real Madrid and will earn much more money than he has received to date.
“He is negotiating with the club, his contract ends in 2021 and he wants until 2022, but the club prefers to keep it until 2021 and raise his salary.
“[Per year] he earns €22m (£19.5m) and is asking for about €30m (£27m). It can be closed at just under that figure.
“Messi earns €35m (£31m) plus €7m (£6m) in variables and then a premium of €10m (£9m) per contract season, which in total means for Barcelona (including taxes) about €110m (£98m)."
Real will almost certainly grant Ronaldo his wish as they look to retain his services after a tumultuous couple of months that saw the ex-Manchester United star threaten to leave the club.
Ronaldo is currently battling a £13m tax evasion case through the Spanish courts and had insisted he wanted to leave Santiago Bernabeu after he was charged by the tax autorities over his failure to pay the right amount of cash through his books.
Zinedine Zidane's team, however, would be loathe to lose his matchwinning skills regardless of his age, and will want Ronaldo to stay in the Spanish capital to help continue their dominance over Barcelona in domestic and European competitions.
Ronaldo beat Messi to the coveted 2016 Ballon d'Or award and helped Real secure a league and Champions League double last season, and will likely use those titles as evidence that he deserves a bigger