Man United cash in on Ronaldo

London: In time the 2008-09 season will come to be viewed as an added extra to Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United career, a hastily agreed option that did not really work out to the entire satisfaction of any of the parties concerned and a contractual obligation that merely delayed the inevitable.

Knowing what we know now, Ronaldo might have been better packing his bags and his Champions League winner's medal at the end of last season and leaving United wanting more.

He might even have commanded a higher sum 12 months ago, before the credit crunch kicked in, and he would have found himself the centre of attention as the only galactico at the Bernabeu instead of having to share top billing with Kaka.

From United's point of view a record-breaking £80 million (Dh485 million) represents good business for a player who clearly wanted to leave.

It does not matter what Ronaldo might have gone on to achieve with United, how difficult it will be to replace him or what it actually says on his contract.

Once a player has indicated he would rather be somewhere else it is time to stop talking legalese and start talking money.

United did well to resist Ronaldo's attempts to leave last summer, but apart from the two stunning long-range strikes that propelled the team into a second successive Champions League final, they did not enjoy the same sort of enthusiasm and input from a player who finished the previous season with 42 goals.

Ronaldo still managed to weigh in with a far from insignificant 26 goals in the season just ended, but it was obvious a parting of the ways would come sooner rather than later and noticeable that Sir Alex Ferguson stopped bristling with defiance whenever the subject of Real Madrid was raised and instead simply claimed he was tired of discussing the matter.

At 24, Ronaldo arguably has his best years ahead of him, although it remains to be seen whether Real Madrid get as much out of him as Manchester United.

They will not be getting the same value for money, for a start. The £12 million United paid in 2003 looks trifling when set against the trophies, goals and moments of individual brilliance that lit up his six years at Old Trafford, and though a certain petulance and willingness to fall over in search of free kicks could be entered in the debit side of the ledger, there is no doubt United fans greatly enjoyed watching a precocious teenager grow up to be a world beater.

One hopes, quite literally, that Ronaldo can keep his feet on the ground in Madrid. He has the talent and the temperament for the Bernabeu, although one suspects if things ever start to go wrong they could go wrong quite badly.

One thing Ronaldo is going to have to get used to straight away is more meetings, and more relentless comparisons, with Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

The pair have been rivals in the World Player of the Year and Ballon D'Or stakes for the past few seasons with Ronaldo pipping Messi to the awards this season, although there was no doubt the Barcelona player won hands down in the head-to-head contest that was the Champions League final.

If that trend continues in La Liga next season, Ronaldo is going to have to prove he can live up to his reputation and his transfer tag.

He is worth every penny and more.Real Madrid needs C.Ronaldo and Kaka along to take top lead from the unbeatable barcalona. C.Ronaldo will excel , but one should be aware of the fact that Real Madrid got a bad history in treating or dealing with superstars. All superstars with the exception of Zidan succeded in Real. The others like Figo when he was in his golden ages ,and Beckham ,Ronaldo (the brazilian ) all felt like Real Madrid was a graveyard to them. The only who had a succesfull come back after the bad experience with Real Madrid was Beckham. (currently excelling at Man U) The problem with Sir Ferguson is that he takes things personaly .Carlos Teves was the best striker in Man U. And should have been in the line up every single match instead of Berbatov and instead of puting C.Rolando as a Center Forward. Ronaldo can play only as a winger.Ferguson choices were bad this season by depending heavily on The Korean Winger instead of Nani or other choices.
Ali Al Afifi
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 12, 2009, 15:58

The ridiculous amount being paid for Ronaldo just shows that football today has become a money making machine. Real Madrid should instead invest this money in developing young footballers and look out for future superstars. Real Madrid has always taken established stars from other clubs by paying these ridiculous amounts.They should look for talent in smaller leagues and invest in talent scouts. Look at what Barcelona and Man U have achieved by paying half of what Real Madrid pays in transfer fees.What he fails to win a single cup?
Abdus
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 12, 2009, 13:54