BRAZILIAN star Ronaldo has signed a new contract which will keep him at Spanish side Barcelona until 2006, the club's president, Jose Luis Nunez, said yesterday. Ronaldo will double his salary in the process.

Barcelona have written a clause into his contract, which was extended by two years, fixing a transfer fee at $71.5 million, Nunez said.

Nunez, who would have suffered a blow to his re-election chances as president next season if Ronaldo had left, agreed to raise the 20-year-old's salary - after tax - from $1.7 million to $3.2 million a year.

Last week Inter Milan were reported to be ready to make a $75 million bid for Ronaldo.