Cristiano Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, stands to earn an
astonishing £10million if he can engineer the Portugal winger's
world record £70m move from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
Despite the player's declaration of his desire to leave Old
Trafford, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will refuse to be forced
into showdown talks with his star player.
Mendes, known as 'The Octopus' because of the number of moves he
has a hand in, can expect the huge commission if he clinches
Ronaldo's exit from Old Trafford.
It would be the most lucrative deal of a summer in which he has
already brokered Chelsea's recruitment of Luiz Felipe Scolari as
manager and which promises to bring further fees for his
involvement in potential deals involving Deco and Ricardo
Carvalho.
When Ronaldo returns to England this week for his foot injury to
be assessed, there will be no one on hand at United with the
authority to deal with the issue of his desire to go to Spain.
Ferguson has told friends he will not break his holiday in the
South of France, while chief executive David Gill is also away,
leaving Ronaldo, Mendes and Real sweating on the deal they are so
keen to strike.
United remain adamant they will not sell the double Footballer
of the Year, who gave the clearest indication yet that he wishes to
join Real following Portugal's elimination from Euro 2008 on
Thursday. Ferguson told friends: 'There is no way I'm changing my
plans for anyone.'
But Real believe it is only a matter of time before United have
to talk and are preparing a formal offer of just over £70m for
Ronaldo, smashing the previous record of just under £50m which they
paid Juventus for Zinedine Zidane in 2001. They will also propose
£40m cash plus Brazil forward Robinho, who has given his consent to
be a makeweight.
The United boss has remained silent in the face of speculation
that his relationship with Ronaldo has been damaged beyond repair
and intends to see out the remaining week of his holiday before
entertaining any thoughts of communicating with the midfielder.
'If and when he does, he will regard it as just another piece of
essential club business,' added a United source.
United and Ferguson's public stance of opposing any transfer
remains, but the feeling inside Real is that the main obstacle to
the deal has been removed now that Ronaldo has gone public with his
wish to move to Real.
Ronaldo had said: 'It is a dream, a step forward, you can call
it what you want. For me it is a great opportunity.'
Real have drawn up a shortlist of three possible homes in Madrid
for Ronaldo on which he could lavish a basic salary of
£150,000-perweek, plus further fortunes from his image rights.
Nani, Ronaldo's team-mate for club and country, believes his
departure is inevitable saying: 'The loss of Cristiano Ronaldo will
be bad news for United. In the Portugal camp, Cristiano advised us
that his decision was clear and that now he will try new
challenges.'
Even if a deal is not brokered soon, Ronaldo's injury makes it
unlikely he will join United on their four-match African tour next
month.
