Earlier today, Ferguson, Queiroz and Manchester
United received support for their stance from an unexpected source
as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern Munich chairman, criticised
Real Madrid's conduct in the Ronaldo transfer saga.
Rummenigge is less worried about Manchester United
being bullied into agreeing to sell Ronaldo than the negative
precedent such a move may create. "This is not a question of money
for Manchester United. The player and Real Madrid can say what they
want, United have the last word and if they say it is not happening
then that is that," Rummenigge said.
"Teams will always have players in their squad that see
incredible offers come in for them and contracts put forward that
could see them earn a lot more money than they do with your
club."
Speculation about Real Madrid offering to pay an £80
million fee for Ronaldo were thrown into doubt when earlier this
week club president Ramon Calderon said they would "never pay
€100million for any player".
Nevertheless, the Spanish champions were also reported
to be offering to pay Ronaldo £182,000-a-week after tax. Rummenigge
says the publication of such figures are unfortunate. "That is the
world that we currently live in, but luckily people can still say
no. No is a very good word. In fact it is one of my favourites," he
said.
"I cannot believe that a club like Real Madrid can
force a player like Cristiano Ronaldo to cause such tension,
because the price that they will have to pay is too high for
everyone. "I think that this is dangerous for world football. Each
club has to find its own way of dealing with things in these cases.
This is a situation that only concerns Manchester United, but I
would like to see Ronaldo stay at the club for the benefit of
everyone."
Manchester United have no doubt that Ronaldo is crucial
to the club's future success. Indeed, there is no doubt that he is
one of the world's top players and his statistics reflect his
meteoric rise to superstardom and suggest that perhaps his best is
yet to come. The rising rate of his Premier League goalscoring
reflects that. From 2003-04 to 07-08, his tallies rose as: 4, 5, 9,
17 and 31. However, his potential move may serve to undermine a
Manchester United squad that could ill-afford to lose him.
Their reliance on Ronaldo's goals would be difficult to
overcome and together with uncertainty over the future of forward
Carlos Tevez who is entering the final year of a two-year lon deal
that saw him move to Old Trafford from West Ham, could serve to
leave the club unsettled for years to come.