Manchester United could be forced to repel the
advances of Spain's two biggest clubs in the battle to hold onto
Cristiano Ronaldo with Barcelona preparing to rival Real Madrid in
the race to sign the Portuguese forward.
Ronaldo, currently preparing for Portugal's Euro 2008
opener against Turkey on Saturday, has been at the centre of a
tug-of-war between United and Real in recent weeks, with the
Spanish champions making no secret of their desire to tempt the
23-year-old from Old Trafford.
But boardroom tensions at Barcelona could result in the
Catalan giants fighting it out with Real for Ronaldo if the club's
former vice-president, Sandro Rosell, succeeds in his bid to unseat
the president, Joan Laporta, in a vote of confidence amongst
Barca's members.
Laporta and Rosell worked together to win the
presidency in 2003 and the two men drove the club's ultimately
unsuccessful attempts to sign David Beckham from United, who
accepted a £25m bid from Barca before selling the midfielder to
Real.
Rosell and Laporta went on to split acrimoniously, but
reports in Spain suggest that Rosell, a former Nike executive, is
planning to spark a battle for the Barcelona presidency this
summer, with an audacious plan to sign Ronaldo central to his bid.
With Ronaldo positioned as their flagship footballer, it is
understood that Nike would prefer him to move to Barcelona rather
than adidas-sponsored Real, should he leave United.
Real president Ramon Calderon once again admitted today
that their attempts to sign Ronaldo were unlikely to be successful
unless United change their stance. He said: "The signing of
Cristiano Ronaldo is impossible. We cannot do anything about it
because his club do not wish to sell. "We do not want to force the
issue because that is not the policy of Real Madrid when dealing
with any club, especially not one that we consider a friend."
United chief executive David Gill remained insistent,
however, that Ronaldo will not be leaving Old Trafford this summer.
Gill said: "Our position is clear. Both myself and Sir Alex
Ferguson stated it last week and that is all we have to say on the
matter. Full stop."
Barcelona's move comes after reports today that
Cristiano Ronaldo has told his agent, Jorge Mendes, that he wants
to leave United to fulfil his "dream" of playing for Real Madrid.
The Portugal international's wishes have been made clear to the
Spanish giants who will offer him a deal worth £150,000 per week
after tax, a contract that he feels is too good to refuse.
On Saturday, the double Footballer of the Year said
that he would announce his decision regarding his one-off move to
Madrid "in two or three days", however, it is now believed he will
not talk to the world's media before Friday at the earliest.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be furious
about this latest development, but until the player comes out
publicly to deny he wants to leave Old Trafford, which he has
repeatedly refused to do, the speculation will continue, with the
feeling growing that he does after all wish to depart the Premier
League and European champions for pastures new.
It is believed that his compatriot Mendes and Real
Madrid have been working on a strategy to overcome United's present
resistance. However, seeing how the latter have already threatened
to report their Spanish counterparts to football's world governing
body, Fifa, and Ferguson has revealed the Glazer family would
rather let the player rot in the reserves than sell him to their
rivals, that may well prove problematical.
