ronaldo is off to real madrid!!!
Manchester United have accepted an £80m offer from Real Madrid
for Cristiano Ronaldo.
GettyImages
Cristiano Ronaldo's last game for United was the
Champions League final defeat to Barca
A statement on the United website confirmed that a deal for the
24-year-old should be completed by the end of the month.
''Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional
offer of £80million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.
''At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to
leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives,
United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the
player.
''Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will
not comment until further notice.''
Ronaldo has long been a target for the Spanish giants, whose
president Florentino Perez vowed earlier this week to do
''everything possible'' to take the 24-year-old to the
Bernabeu.
It is now certain that a second era of "Galacticos" has begun at
Madird, with news of Ronaldo's £80m deal coming in the same week
Perez agreed a £59m, deal to sign Kaka.
The news is bound to be greeted with some scepticism by United
fans who have repeatedly been told no deal had been agreed for the
sale of FIFA's world player of the year in the face of regular
statements from Spain the former Sporting Lisbon star was bound for
the Bernabeu.
It was even suggested Ronaldo would be due a £20m compensation
fee from Real if the deal did not go through by June 30, the date
United now state themselves is when they expect matters to be
concluded.
As it now seems a matter of when, rather than if a world record
transfer will be completed, Sir Alex Ferguson might wish to explain
why he has gone back on his famous comment in December last year
that he would not ''sell that mob a virus''.
It is the first time for many years United would have allowed a
player to leave they were not happy about losing.
Yet some supporters may be pleased that at least another
drawn-out transfer saga, such as the one 12 months ago, is not
played out in public.
At least the money could be reinvested in a squad that almost,
but not quite proved good enough to win back-to-back Champions
League trophies, in addition to a hat-trick of Premier League
titles.
In reshaping a squad that looks almost certain to lose Carlos
Tevez as well, Ferguson might be able to offer Wayne Rooney a more
permanent central striking role and fulfil the promise he has shown
on the international stage this season.
The name of Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery is bound to crop up as
a potential replacement, although the 27-year-old seems hugely
overpriced at the £40m figure being bandied about in some quarters,
with Wigan's Antonio Valencia also in the frame.
Ferguson will certainly be making plans already to ensure his
new faces are on board before United head to Asia for their
pre-season tour five weeks from today.
Amid the frenzy over Ronaldo's impending departure, it is bound
to be asked whether the current debt hanging over United of almost
£700m has played any part in the decision to accept Real's huge
bid.
While Ferguson has always backed the Glazer family for the
backing he has received, supporters will now be interested to see
whether their manager is handed all the funds received from Spain,
plus an annual transfer kitty said to be around £25m.
With Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary
Neville all reaching the end of their careers, it promises to be a
far more testing summer than Ferguson might have realised.
And, for all the petulance and pouting for which Ronaldo is so
famed, filling the void created by the loss of his immense talent
may prove difficult.
from
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=654097&sec=transfers&cc=4716