Western media deciphered the whole story of Ronaldo s contract renewal of Barcelona: Special clauses bury hidden dangers, Champagne celebrates a major reversal

May 4th, May 2025, Giovanni Blancini, the former agent of Brazilian legend Ronaldo, accepted an exclusive interview with the Spanish media "Relevo", revealing the inside story of the contract renewal that shocked the football world for the first time. This "Barcelona Dream" that only lasted for a year came to an abrupt end due to the controversy over the terms of the contract, which eventually led to the "Aliens" turning to Inter Milan, while Barcelona missed the cornerstone of creating the dynasty.

Blancini revealed that as early as Ronaldo joined Barcelona from Eindhoven, the team sowed the seeds of controversy:"We have introduced an unprecedented 'termination clause' - after each season, players can unilaterally terminate the contract by paying liquidated damages, and the amount, payment method and even third-party payment rules are written into the contract in black and white." This innovative clause aims to avoid the tax risks of Spain's "Decree No. 1006", but has become the focus of Barcelona's senior executives' repeated attempts to modify it later.

In the 1996-97 season, Ronaldo made a 34-goal performance under Bobby Robson, but Barcelona ranked second in the league. When club chairman Josep Luis Nunes started negotiations for renewal, conflicts between the two sides completely broke out: "Barcelona demanded that 60% of the salary be converted into portrait rights income to avoid taxes, which would lead to a shrinking player's actual income. We insisted on cash payments, and the negotiations were stalemate for half a year." Blancini emphasized that at that time, South American stars including Romario accepted the unspoken rule of 15% of the salary be converted to portrait rights, but Ronaldo's team refused to compromise.

On June 1997, the two sides seemed to have reached a historic breakthrough. Blancini recalled: "We even filmed a video of Ronaldo's champagne celebration in Brazil. All key terms were verbally promised: salary increase, payment currency, tax plan. "However, when the team returned from dinner to Nunes office to sign the formal contract, they found that the terms were stolen: "The lawyer stuffed in what we clearly objected! We left the seat on the spot, and then vice chairman Joan Gaspart chased us in the stairwell and shouted 'Talk again', but the trust had completely broken down. "At this time, Inter Milan President Massimo Moratti had received a notice to restart the negotiations and finally took away Mr. Golden Ball for a liquidated damages of 27.9 million US dollars.

This break has had a profound impact: For Barcelona: After losing the core of the team, Van Gaal has activated Rivaldo. Although he regained La Liga, it is difficult to replicate Ronaldo's box office appeal. Blancini said bluntly: "The management of the Nunes era always felt that it was unshakable, and this arrogance eventually backfired the club. "For Ronaldo: In Serie A conservative tactics and frequent injuries, the spirituality of "alien" gradually faded.

Intriguingly, similar dramas were staged again 20 years later - Neymar ran away from Paris for 220 million euros in 2017, and Barcelona was also involved in a lawsuit over the "loyalty bonus" clause. As Blancini concluded: "This club never seems to learn to retain superstars in a transparent way." Looking back at that summer night in 1997, football history has been rewritten when Gaspart's footsteps echoed in the stairwell.