UNITED SLAM DOOR ON RONALDO MADRID MOVE
Friday, June 20th, 2008 by Stuart Stratford
Manchester United have sought to put an end to the constant media speculation surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo, putting out an official statement on their website,
Further to Friday’s press speculation about where Cristiano Ronaldo’s future lies, the club has moved to reiterate its stance on the matter: United are not listening to offers. Ronaldo has continually been linked with a move to Spanish side Real Madrid this summer. But the club reaffirmed to ManUtd.com on Friday morning that the 23-year-old United star is “not for sale”
It seems that nobody has told the player of this decision for he steadfastly refused to end the rumours of a summer move to the Bernabeu following Portugal’s exit from Euro2008. Ronaldo instead chose to justify his prevarication over a decision by referring to his national team coach’s words on Sky Sports guillembalague.com,
It is a dream, a step forward, you can call it what you want. For me it is a great opportunity, and as (Luiz Felipe) Scolari says, that train passes by only once, and we have to take advantage of it
Reports elsewhere suggest that the player agreed to join Real Madrid as far back as January of this year although the truth of these rumours is open to doubt.
If United believe that the matter will be resolved by their statement then it betrays an unbelievable naivete on their part. Real has an illustrious history on the pitch, a reputation for desiring victory through playing football as the purists believe it should. This is in marked contrast to their transfer market activities. In recent seasons they have chosen the same path with failed bids for Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, all at Arsenal when the Madrid PR wagon rolled into town, unsettling players with words here and there from Presidents to tea ladies appearing in the Spanish media, eulogising the player and trying to bully clubs into selling.
With Ronaldo, the situation is different from the then Arsenal players. None of them spoke of the dream of playing for Madrid nor that they would do so one day in the future. Ronaldo has often stated categorically that he will do so. Therein is Sir Alex Ferguson’s dilemma. Should he cash in now on the player, perhaps at his peak transfer value or should he hold onto a player who clearly has his heart elsewhere and suffer diminished performances as a result? Ronaldo’s value for United on the pitch is in his goals and off-the-pitch his commercial revenue has only just begun to be exploited. The question for the Glazers is whether the player’s marketing value can be recovered through new signings.
As for United fans, this is just the beginning of a long and potentially cruel summer.
Tags: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Transfer Gossip
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