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Ronaldo set for £80m switch?

Published by Ian John on June 11, 2009

Manchester United have accepted an offer of £80m from Real Madrid for star winger Cristiano Ronaldo. It is being reported that United have finally agreed to the world record fee for the 24 year old player after he reportedly told club officials that he wanted to leave the club to join Real Madrid.

United have said they expect the deal to be concluded by the 30th June. It is not yet understood if personal terms between player and club have been finalised, though there has been talk of Ronaldo being offered a deal somewhere in the region of £200,000 a week, which would seemingly make his decision to sign a mere formality.

Ronaldo will join Kaka at Real Madrid next season after the Brazillian announced his £56m (or £59m if you read some other sources) move to Real Madrid earlier this week. The signing represents a major coup for Real’s returning president Florentino Perez who promised fans of the team, comprehensively outplayed domestically by Barcelona and humbled 5-0 by Liverpool in the Champions League, a return to the days of the Galactico. With Kaka and Ronaldo signed, it seems likely that Perez will now turn his attention to Valencia’s David Villa, although a move for Inter Milan striker Zslatan Ibrahimovic has also been rumoured in recent days.

Speculation is now mounting as to who United will bring in to replace Ronaldo. While Wigan’s Luis Antonio Valencia is reported to be a target for Sir Alex Ferguson, it is thought that a significant proportion of the cash could be used to bring in Frank Ribery from Bayern Munich. Indeed it would not be that surprising if talks between Manchester United and Bayern Munich have not already taken place with regards to this scenario. Also purported to be drawing interest from United are Valencia’s David Silva and young Brazillian centre back Dodo, who will leave Corinthians to join United, much to the chagrin of Brazillian legend Carlos Alberto who accused United and clubs who snap up young Brazillian talent of “raping the domestic game” in Brazil.

So we’ve moved on from not selling Real Madrid a “virus” to selling them one of the best players in the world.

While United fans will be sorry to see Ronaldo go, the deal does make sense on many levels. The player has never been fully committed to United over the past year or two. Once his eyes were opened to the salary Real Madrid were offering (not to mention, the far more favourable tax levels in Spain) it was only a matter of time. Pride and stubbornness has seen this issue drag on for the best part of 18 months on the part of Sir Alex, but he has done the right thing in allowing a player who does not want to stay, to leave. The money he has received for him will be used very wisely I am sure strengthening areas of the team that perhaps were lacking last season.

However it is worth remembering, they won’t be able to find another Cristiano Ronaldo in a hurry.

So the Galactico’s have doubled in number within a week so it seems. Who will be the next to join their ranks?

Image Courtesy of **RicardoPmac** on Flickr.com

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