Rome: Big-spending French side Paris Saint-Germain are ready to shell out 100 million euros for Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo and bring manager Jose Mourinho at the same time, Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport said on Wednesday.
The sports daily claimed the two clubs have already opened negotiations on the joint move, with Ronaldo and Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes in talks with the player, Real president Florentino Perez and PSG’s Qatari owner Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
The French giants are apparently prepared to break the bank to meet Ronaldo’s wage demand of 18 million euros a year, topping the 14 million he picks up at Real and eclipsing the 14.5 million they are already paying star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
If Ronaldo agreed the move, Mourinho would follow, Gazzetta claimed.
The newspaper said Mendes was the key to the deal as he also represents Atletico Madrid’s prolific Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, who could prove the ideal replacement for Ronaldo at Real with a price tag of 70 million euros on his head.
Meanwhile, Barcelona didn’t need Lionel Messi to secure a successful start to their Copa del Rey defence on Tuesday, beating third-tier Alaves 3-0 after goals by David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas.
Villa opened the scoring in the 40th minute when he perfectly timed his run past Alaves’ back four to powerfully latch onto a long pass by Iniesta and send it into the net via the crossbar.
Villa, who missed the second half of last season and the European Championship after breaking his leg, said he’s enjoying every minute being back on the pitch.
“From hospital it was difficult to score goals,” Villa said. “After all this time I want to play as much as possible, but I am in the hands of professionals and they know what’s best for me.”
Iniesta added the second in the 51st after a well-worked move. Fabregas won possession deep in Alaves’ half and threaded a cross through the defence to Villa, who found Iniesta with a delicate tap. The Spain midfielder then scored with a delightfully controlled lob over Alaves goalkeeper Urtzi Iturrioz.
Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez had what appeared to be a legitimate goal disallowed for offside in the 56th minute. But Fabregas rose above the Alaves defence in the centre of the penalty area to head in a precisely aimed cross from the right by Dani Alves in the 88th.
Coach Tito Vilanova had decided to rest Messi, forward Pedro Rodriguez, midfielder Xavi Hernandez and defender Jordi Alba for the game.
With several other defenders out injured, Vilanova selected Martin Montoya, Javier Mascherano, Marc Bartra and Dani Alves for the back four.
Earlier on Tuesday, goals by Nelson Valdez and Jonas gave Valencia a 2-0 win over lower-tier club Llagostera.
Playing in pouring rain at Llagostera’s 2,500-capacity stadium 100 kilometres (62 miles) northeast of Barcelona, Valencia’s Brazil forward Jonas headed midfielder Daniel Parejo’s pass into the net in first-half injury time.
Valdez then headed in a corner from Parejo in the 66th.
Llagostera is an agricultural town of 8,000 residents and its football has 500 members and an annual budget of euros 400,000.
