Cristiano Ronaldo will realise his dream move from Manchester United to Real Madrid – but not for another 12 months. (Sunday Express 29th June 2008)The Portuguese winger insists he wants to leave for the Bernabeu in a world-record transfer deal in the next few weeks but United are having none of it.
With manager Sir Alex Ferguson, chief executive David Gill and the club’s owners, the Glazers, all firmly entrenched in their view that Real Madrid should be stopped in their tracks, 23-year-old Ronaldo can expect a rough ride in the build-up to the new season.
Ferguson is still on holiday in the south of France, confident that Ronaldo’s destiny lies in his club’s hands, while Gill is also enjoying a summer break.
It means that there is no chance of an immediate summit meeting with Ronaldo. That suits United, who will reject any opening bid – likely to be in the region of £60million – from Real Madrid, who are massing their big guns, president Ramon Calderon, coach Bernd Schuster and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic, for an all-out assault to try and land their biggest signing since Zinedine Zidane.
United will dig their heels in but Ferguson is a realist and knows it’s not good for dressing room morale to keep an unhappy player. That’s why Sunday Express Sport believes an unofficial agreement will eventually be struck with Ronaldo enabling him to stay at Old Trafford for another year.
If he still wants to pursue his ‘dream move’ to Real Madrid next summer then it’s unlikely that United would stand in the player’s way.
They are adamant though that despite the player’s protestations and Real Madrid’s persistence, Ronaldo will start the new season as a Manchester United player. He will also start it on his existing five-year contract – signed only last summer – which gives him £110,000 a week. Real Madrid have promised him three times that amount but as Sunday Express Sport has reported, there are advanced plans led by Bryan Glazer for an image rights link-up with United’s main backers Nike which would effectively double the Portuguese international’s pay packet.
But the main figure in the coming weeks as the Ronaldo saga looks for a resolution is Ferguson.
IMO - Don't do it Mr Ronaldo. Don't do it!! It will be a BIG mistake. The sense here is as a player unsettled there would be another move within twelve to eighteen months.