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Real Madrid are famed for their pristine white
kit but, given the club's indebted recent financial history, red
might be a more appropriate colour.
A fiscal crisis at the turn of the century was overcome
following a deal to sell the club's training ground to regional
government in Spain, and according to recent estimates the debt
figure is again in excess of £160 million.
Club president Ramon Calderon, having seemingly steered
away from the controversial 'galactico' policy of predecessor
Florentino Perez, insisted last night that Real Madrid would "never
pay €100million for any player," yet it looks increasingly likely
that they will do just that to secure the signature of Manchester
United's Cristiano Ronaldo. On top of that, Calderon is ready
to give the Portuguese a
£182,000-a-week contract that would dwarf the wages
commanded by players such as Kaka, Michael Ballack and John
Terry.
At a time of such Premier League strength, Real's
apparent financial muscle may appear surprising. Indeed, if the
Ronaldo transfer happens, it would force a re-evaluation of the
supposed European financial dominance of England's leading
clubs.
Recent research showed that the Premier League was
generating some £600 million more income on an annual basis than
Spain's La Liga, yet revenues are widely split in Spain.
Real were accused of being effectively state-subsidised
following the training ground deal, but remain the only club to
generate more annual income than United. In 2006-07, according to Deloitte's Money
League, their turnover
was £236 million compared to United's £212 million. The difference
could largely be explained by the commercial legacy of the
galactico policy, as well broadcast rights. United and the rest of
the Premier League clubs sell their television rights collectively,
while Real are free to thrash out individual deals in Spain, and
have recently signed a contract with Mediapro worth £740 million
over seven years. They also generated more than £30 million more in
commercial turnover than United, an area of their finances that
improved significantly during the period that Zinedine Zidane,
David Beckham and Brazil's Ronaldo were at the club.
As well as the benefit on the football pitch, the
acquisition of United's Ronaldo would also provide a boost to
Real's merchandising. It is, however, widely predicted that
United's turnover will surpass Real's when the figures for the
2007-08 season are published.
Ronaldo yesterday went on holiday, and no swift
resolution is expected. Ultimately, the stand-off highlights the
differing styles of the world's two richest clubs. United's
emphasis on developing emerging young talent has helped ease any
temptation to spend excessively on individual players, while Real
coach Bernd Schuster has expressed the desire to "pay whatever it
takes" to sign Ronaldo.
