The First 90 Minutes.com

After his fascinating article regarding Middlesbrough striker Afonso Alves, thefirst90minutes' Football League Expert, Louis Antonius returns to keep you up to date with the prolonged Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga...

 

The never-ending tale of Cristiano Ronaldo’s flirtation with Real Madrid- everyone’s favourite “will he won’t he” summer transfer saga looks like it’s returning. On Thursday morning Ronaldo’s potential move dominated the newspapers back pages again thanks to a story in Spanish newspaper Marca (a hit with Real fans for obvious reasons), which claimed the deal was done. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson responded humorously to these claims by stating he “wouldn’t sell that mob a virus”.

 

 

 

Background

 

A previously friendly relationship between arguably the two greatest football clubs in the World turned sour in the summer when Real refused to give up on signing Ronaldo. The Spaniards reportedly were throwing everything at United, with cash sums varying from £75- 100 million whilst Madrid playing staff were also being thrown in as bait, most notably Robinho (who later moved to United’s rivals Man City) and Wesley Sneijder. A war of words broke out with Ferguson claiming Real’s actions were “immoral” and a complaint was made to UEFA, who later cleared Real of any wrongdoing. The man in the middle, who was in Austria and Switzerland for Euro 2008, only fuelled speculation of a move, refusing to deny there was no truth in the rumours and constantly diverting their attention away from himself onto the great man above “Only God knows the future”.As we all know Ronaldo decided to remain at United for this season, but doubts crept in about his commitment when his usual enthusiastic goal celebrations turned into a lacklustre nod of the head. His form has stepped up in recent weeks with signs he can repeat a goal filled season similar to that of the last. But with the transfer window just days away will the temptation of a move grow inside again…? 

Why Would He Wish To Leave?

Many Premier League lovers think Ronaldo would be mad to leave the club that has turned him from a one-trick pony into one of the best players ever to play the beautiful game but Ronaldo has been quoted as saying, “it is a dream” to move to Madrid. It's clear the European players treat the likes of Real Madrid and A.C Milan as the best clubs in the World and seek to play for them. In the same way playing for Manchester United or Liverpool would fulfill many British players’ dreams, which Ferguson understands.

Another possible reason Ronaldo may leave is because he has won everything he can at United after adding a FIFA World Club Cup medal to his silverware cabinet. The list of winning achievements include 2 Premier League titles (06-07, 07-08), the FA Cup (03-04), the Carling Cup (03-04), the Community Shield (08-09), the Club World Cup (08-09) and, the one every player desires, a Champions League medal (07-08). He may now wish to add the Spanish domestic titles to this glittering array of medals.

Also being booed and hated at every ground in Britain away from Old Trafford must be hard for him despite his manager claiming it inspires him, he often shows signs of frustration with the crowd which has previously landed him in trouble. Incidents at the JJB Stadium and Villa Park quite recently show evidence of this. 

Will The Move Happen?

 

 

Real Madrid go into the Christmas break outside the Champions League places and a humiliating 12 points behind fierce rivals Barcelona at the top. New manager Juande Ramos will look for additions in order to hit the ground running as soon as the Primera Liga resumes in January. Madrid have already signed Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra for substantial transfer fees, showing others Madrid aren’t afraid to get their cheque book out, but is Ronaldo’s fee going to be out of their reach? There’s no doubt there will be more rumours of a bid for Ronaldo, United’s signing of Dimtar Berbatov will only intensify them but Ramos has been linked with other players who impressed him in England with the likes of Ashley Young and Didier Zokora being mentioned the most.

 

It's well worth noting at Real Madrid there are presidential elections, which always stirs things up in the transfer market. The race to become president often hinges on the candidates shopping lists. Current president Ramon Calderón was elected in 2006 and in his campaign he excited the Los Merengues fans promising to deliver the deadly trio of Kaka, Cesc Fabregas and Arjen Robben if elected! Of course when he was put in power he only brought Robben out of the three to the Santiago Bernabéu. There is no doubting the fact he would love to see Ronaldo in a Madrid shirt but realistically is he just using the Ronaldo claims as the ticket to another term in office.

 

 

Finally…

It’s very hard to predict where Ronaldo’s future lies, but I’m certain Real won’t be able to entice him away from Manchester in January. But in this financially unstable condition Britain finds itself in, can any football club really reject £100 million if it was to be offered? Can United continue to deny Ronaldo the chance to fulfil his dream? Questions that will be answered soon but for the moment as Ronaldo would say, “Only God knows the future”!

By Louis Antonius