LAST WEEK Real Madrid’s president, Ramon Calderon, told the club’s board of directors their work was done and the ball was in Cristiano Ronaldo’s court. Last night the Portuguese returned it with interest by making his long-awaited public declaration of intent. But there is still a third party to consider: Manchester United. Like many a soap opera the ending may be predictable but the plot has some way to run. Its final denouement will require a monstrous fee that could climb to €98 million.
When Calderon spoke to the board, he informed them Real had spoken to the agent Jorge Mendes about signing his client. An agreement was close, now all they could do was wait – and brief the Madrid press, who fostered a climate they considered conducive to his signing. The sports daily As happily claimed it had "created" a "state of excitement useful to the player and to Madrid".
Its counterpart Marca, the newspaper attacked by Alex Ferguson, would second that. The truth may prove to be rather different.
Yesterday, the wait for Ronaldo finally ended. With his admission he wants to join Real Madrid "if it's true they are eager to pay me and United what they have said", his departure from Old Trafford drew nearer.
He took the next step along the familiar path Madrid trod in signing Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham: speak to the player, leak to the press, encourage the player to speak out and force an unwilling seller into a corner.
The process has reached its endgame and Madrid can afford to be satisfied for now. But it may yet be the Spanish club who find themselves forced into a corner – certainly if the threats of Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz are not empty. Both sides are playing a risky game. Dealing with a furious Ferguson will be difficult and negotiating with a player whose only public condition was to insist Madrid match the dizzying figures being bandied about will not be cheap.
Ultimately, Ronaldo's public desire to depart is likely to be the deciding factor but Ferguson is not the wounded prey Madrid would like. Nor is he the willing seller they could count upon in the past. Ferguson claimed last week United sold Ruud van Nistelrooy and Beckham to Madrid "because they wanted to" and there was an element of truth in it. This time he has no intention of selling. Unless the price is colossal.
Madrid's position is not so strong as on previous occasions under the former president Florentino Perez. Madrid allowed Juventus, Internazionale and United to believe they could walk away from deals if needs be. Now, unlike before, it is United who apparently stand to gain from a collapsed deal. Ferguson has already answered the threat of being lumbered with an unhappy player by insisting he will leave Ronaldo in the stands if necessary.
Stung by Ferguson's recent evocation of General Franco and Queiroz's rekindling of Iberian border disputes, Calderon took a step back. On Monday, he insisted "not signing Ronaldo would not be a failure". The problem is a failure is exactly what it would be. And United know it. Having missed out on his electoral promises, Kaka and Cesc Fabregas, having laid so much on the line for Ronaldo, and given his perpetual search for legitimacy after winning a disputed election, Calderon simply cannot fail to get his man. Whatever the cost.
All the more so as he has already spoken to creditors about financing the deal and his right-hand man at Real has publicly insisted: "We have the money to sign any deal we want."
There have been suggestions of a fee as high as €98 million or an offer involving players as significant as Sergio Ramos and Robinho and a salary almost twice that earned at Old Trafford. The figures may only be rumours but by insisting he would go "if" his suitors match the kind of figures being thrown about "for me and United", Ronaldo last night effectively forced them to do exactly that.
United will surely do likewise. Madrid may get their man, but it could be a Portuguese and a Scot who are laughing all the way to the bank.
Blackburn Rovers's Roque Santa Cruz has revealed United are in the hunt to sign him. The 26-year-old had a fine maiden campaign in England, bagging 23 goals following his move from Bayern Munich.
Speaking in Paraguay, where he is preparing for World Cup duty, Santa Cruz told La Nacion: "The interest from Manchester United is real but I'm busy now so my representatives will handle anything if there is a concrete offer."
Guardian Service