Ronaldo stays put

MADRID - Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has renewed his contract with the club, which had been due to expire in 2015, the Spanish giants said yesterday.

Real did not give details of the contract extension, but the online edition of sports daily Marca said the 28-year-old playmaker had renewed his contract until 2018.

Ronaldo will earn ?17-million (about R223-million) per season under his new contract, ?1-million (about R13-million) more per season than his main rival Lionel Messi makes at Barcelona, the newspaper said. "This renewal is expected to make Ronaldo the highest-paid player in Spanish football," it said.

Meanwhile, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed the world's most expensive player Gareth Bale's attitude after the Welshman scored on his debut in the Spanish giants' 2-2 draw with Villarreal on Saturday.

Bale levelled for Real with a simple finish from close range just before half-time to cancel out Cani's opener for the hosts.

The 24-year-old was withdrawn by Ancelotti along with fellow debutant Asier Illarramendi on the hour mark due to their lack of match fitness.

Ronaldo then briefly put Real ahead before Giovani dos Santos struck 21 minutes from time to ensure the spoils were shared.

Ancelotti was happy with the contribution of his new players against a confident Villarreal side.

"I think Bale is happy because he has scored for the first time with Real Madrid, which is very important for him . he played well and showed a good attitude."

Bale's debut was also hailed by Real's director of institutional relations Emilio Butragueno.