Real Madrid are ready to
launch a £70million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo in the next 48 hours
and have urged the Manchester United star to hand in a transfer
request. Real have made it clear they will not offer more than £70m
for the Portugal winger, despite United's insistence that their
most saleable asset is not for sale at any price.
The long-running and
acrimonious transfer saga involving Ronaldo, United and Real is set
for a dramatic development with the official bid set to be lodged
imminently, according to reports from Spain last night. Although
United will reject immediately the world recordbreaking offer, the
Spanish champions are confident a formal transfer request from
Ronaldo will help force through the deal.
Pressure is being applied on
Ronaldo and his representatives to come out and make clear their
position, with Real president Ramon Calderon wanting a swift
conclusion to the ongoing tug-of-war over the player. Real are
convinced they will be able to sign him within a matter of days
once the player publicly declares his desire to join them, despite
United's firm refusal to sell the world's most sought-after
player.
Keeping a player once he has
expressed a desire to leave is likely to prove beyond even the
famed man management skills of boss Sir Alex Ferguson, which is why
Real are urging Ronaldo to formally request a move. Over the past
few weeks Real have been putting the finishing touches to the
financial package to lure Ronaldo to the Bernabeu, which will see
the 23-year-old winger become the world's highest-paid player on
£175,000-a-week.
The record-breaking £70m
transfer fee alone is £37m more than the previous world record set
by Real when they paid Juventus £33m for former France skipper
Zinedine Zidane in 2000.
And Ronaldo's annual £9.1m
wages over the four-year deal Real are offering add up to £36.4m,
taking the total outlay for him to a staggering £106.4m, not
including extra revenue generated from image rights and other
commercial deals. Real also believe that his decision to stay at
his home in the exclusive Lisbon resort of Sintra to recover from
ankle problems away from the influence of Fergie and his United
team-mates, will make it easier to make a clear decision over his
future.
As revealed by Sport last
week, Ronaldo is reluctant to meet Fergie face-to-face and wants
his future resolved without the need for what would prove to be an
uncomfortable meeting with his combustible boss. The entire United
hierarchy, including Ferguson, chief executive David Gill and club
owners, the Glazers, are in no mood to allow Ronaldo to leave this
summer - no matter what Real are prepared to pay.
Having dug their heels in and
reported Real to FIFA for their persistent public courting of their
top scorer, the issue has become a matter of principle for United,
who know capitulation would now be a huge embarrassment for them.
But Ronaldo's camp, led by his agent Jorge Mendes, are keen to
maximise the player's huge current market and commercial value by
pushing through a move to Madrid this summer.
Although he is indebted to
Fergie and United for helping develop him into the best player in
the world, the winger's dream is to play in the famed white shirt
of Real and feels it is time for him to make the move from Old
Trafford. Ronaldo's determination to leave United was strengthened
by Fergie's recent remarks about the Glazers being ready to stick
their most influential player in the stands, rather than sell him
to Real.
