The Portugal international secured his fifth Ballon d'Or earlier this month to go level with Lionel Messi.
But his time at the Bernabeu appears to be coming to an end with Real unwilling to meet his new wage demands.
Real are instead intent on replacing him with a younger model that can help them win trophies while increasing his own status.
And the latest reports from Spain suggest Ronaldo will be offered as bait in a bid to get a deal over the line for his envisaged replacement, Neymar.
According to Spanish publication Diario Gol, Real chief Florentino Perez is determined to sign the Brazilian sooner rather than later.
And that means he's ready to offer Paris Saint-Germain Ronaldo, plus a cool £89m (€100m), to tempt them into selling.
If that agreement comes off it will allow Real to offload Ronaldo's wages and pay Neymar as much as he wants.