As everyone may know by now, Real Madrid has been looking to sign Cristiano Ronaldo for quite some time now. Through the media, by AS and Marca newspapers, which both are Madrid based, Real Madrid has announced that Ronaldo is on the top of their list, and will be given an enormous amount of money: 9 million €/year, along with a bonus consisting of a (one of a kind) Audi R8 with all of its features and modifications, since Audi is one of Real Madrid's sponsors.
But I have to ask… Why??
Think about it. Spending 80 million € on one player, adding the car and the salary, that has got to be more than 100 Million €, and the reason for this as proclaimed by the club is “We do have the finances!”
I have rooted for Real Madrid since the day I first followed football, and I must say that this doesn’t make sense. Not that I don’t agree with buying Ronaldo (he did have a wonderful season), but in the end, no means no. Too much is too much. They have used all means necessary, so why persist? Real Madrid has been known to “attempt” to buy almost any player with a good track record, but if you look at the players willing to sign like Ricardo Quaresma, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, David Villa and Alexander Hleb, they all said at least once that Real Madrid’s interest is an honor.
In addition, Sir Alex Ferguson said that if they (Manchester) were to persist the likes of Iker Casillas or Sergio Ramos, Real would definitely say no because they are good players and Real would not let them go for any price. But also if you asked Casillas if he would leave Real he would definitely say no right away because he likes it in Real. However, when it came to Ronaldo, the first time Madrid asked him, all he said was that he had a contract with Manchester United for 4 more years, and he would like to stick to that; he never said no. The second time he was asked, he said that it's his "dream" to play in Spain. However, when he was asked after winning the Champions League, he said that his head is in Manchester. It seems like he can't make up his mind. Nonetheless, his mind will be made up by the Euro 2008, which is when he will inform the media about his decision.
Another Rumor
I read somewhere that it was written that Ronaldo’s godfather, who pushed him to play for Sporting Lisbon and advised him to move on to the Old Trafford, has told reports that he has advised him to move on towards Real Madrid. Also, Portugal manger Scolari has added that he should grasp the chance to evolve to the next level.
So many of the Manchester Fans started commenting on this article that if Ronaldo actually moved to Real, he would be considered a traitor. But why is that? Ronaldo did shine this season with Manchester, helping them win the Premiership and the Champions League; I think that if he really wants to try something new, he should. Remember when Esteban Cambiasso did the same thing after winning the Champions League with Real? He asked for a transfer. So he left, along with Luis Figo and Santiago Solari, to Inter Milan, but I thought that it was normal. They played and won a cup with Madrid, and after they won, they felt like they needed something new. At that time, Cambiasso and Solari were still very young, and they still felt like they should accomplish more with different teams.
Ronaldo should really make up his mind because it's not worth waiting a whole month for and putting both teams in all these problems. I really respect the two of the most prestigious clubs in Europe, but I believe they should not fight about players and morals; instead, they should keep their eyes on the prize, and try their best to win the league next year.