Premier League - United receive £80m Ronaldo fee

Eurosport - Wed, 01 Jul 12:27:00 2009

Manchester United have received an £80 million lump sum from Real Madrid following the completion of Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer.

FOOTBALL 2008 Euro 2008 Cristiano Ronaldo Pic by Armando Franca - 0

The unconditional fee was agreed last month, and it has been paid up front with no performance or sell-on clauses.

Although Ronaldo signed a six-year contract last week, the transfer could only be made official on July 1, the day the summer transfer window opens.

A United statement confirmed that the transfer fee had been paid.

Manager Alex Ferguson used the occasion to pay tribute to the Portuguese winger despite friction between him and the player last season as the Real transfer loomed.

"Cristiano has been a marvellous player for Manchester United. His six years at Old Trafford have seen him develop into the best footballer in the world," he said.

"His contribution has been a major factor in the club's success in that time and his talent, his ability to entertain and his infectious personality have enthralled fans the world over.

"Everyone here wishes him well in his future career."

On Tuesday, United agreed the £16m signing of Wigan Athletic winger Antonio Valencia, their first purchase of the summer.

AFP

Comment 27 - 46 of 46

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  1. what a moneyface

    From SKP, on Tue 14 Jul 3:07PM

  2. pasi naronald mupambepfumi

    From b, on Fri 3 Jul 9:49AM

  3. Let the young lad try his skills elsewhere. The ball­ will still be round in'09-'10, the time for­ each game just 90 mins and when he gets injury he wil­ be benched like any other star player. Been manu since­ 70's - seen it all!

    From Edward, on Wed 1 Jul 3:25PM

  4. £10 million of that could get Tuncay Sanli from­ Middlesbrough, he's a good striker in need of a­ team who can give him the service up front - United­ could be that team. Nice one Ronny lad, been emotional­ son.

    From Close The Door Behind You Rafa., on Wed 1 Jul 1:52PM

  5. It would be nice if Gordan Brown started funding­ liverpool haha , not that they need his help . It will­ be interesting to see how far Real Madrid get with all­ these great players . Wouldn't it be great to see­ them knocked out the Champions league by Man Utd. HAHA­ :)

    From www.prosoccer.co.za, on Wed 1 Jul 1:49PM

  6. With the Presidential influence of Real being able to­ buy every potential player and mainly the ones that­ other teams are interested in, it seems ludicrous that­ FIFA allow one team to have to get a bank loan to buy­ players. there is no way Real can recoup the money­ the've spent so far and thats only on 2 major­ signings. If we are to see the likes of Benzema,­ Ribery, Villa & co. make the switch this summer,­ then the summer budget would be ridiculous. Why is it­ FIFA turn a blind eye to this, yet when British clubs­ flex their financial muscle, Blatter & Platini­ start threatening nationality quotas. There seems to be­ one Spanish signing going to Real, Villa, whilst the­ other French, Brazillian & Portugese signings are­ conveniently overlooked in favour of the stopping­ another British domination in European football.­ It's not right to mix politics with football, and­ the Madrid President shouldn't be buying players­ out of tax payers money to fund his election prospects.­ What would happen if Gordon Brown, a Liverpool fan,­ started buying major signings for Liverpool to­ encourage potential voters? I mean this sincerely with­ all my heart, Real Madrid are the team to beat in all­ competitions and nothing would make me happier than to­ see them come away with nothing at the end of the­ season, just like they did last year...!
    P.S. For the­ record I'm not a scouse fan either, but as a­ Chelsea fan I do predict however a Real vs Man Utd.­ encounter in the CL next season, Fergie vs Ronaldo,­ it's in the script really isn't it...!

    From Kristian, on Wed 1 Jul 1:39PM

  7. let the miser be proud of his transfer. may god help me­ see him like becham or van nistleroy. begging for a­ club in the future. he is famous because of man utd.­ this is the day of his countdownd. his carrer has­ started his way down. come on united for ever.

    From ciccinna_f, on Wed 1 Jul 1:37PM

  8. what a signing but there goes his reputation and fame.­ Soon he will be out of the spot light like all the­ others that left Man Utd

    From www.prosoccer.co.za, on Wed 1 Jul 1:37PM

  9. football Supporters are SO unfaithful...
    6 months ago­ you couldn't shut Man Utd fans up..

    Ronaldo this,­
    Man Utd and Ronaldo best combination...

    HE took you­ to Euro Champs, Runners Up...Numerous Cups and Titles,­ and because he feels it was time to leave with a HUGE­ offer you turn your back on him,

    Undeniably a star­ footballer

    From Joe, on Wed 1 Jul 1:30PM

  10. can Man Utd please spend a couple of quid from the £80­ million on a dictionary for getachew44

    From liam, on Wed 1 Jul 1:14PM

  11. He could not score against Daryll Flahavan at Southend­ !

    From Barry, on Wed 1 Jul 1:11PM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Welcome Cristiano!!.......Force Real Madrid!!!

    From CaRRy mE aWaY, on Wed 1 Jul 1:11PM

  13. One less diving scum bag in the EPL! Hope it all goes­ badly you money grabbing poof!

    From brooksie6870, on Wed 1 Jul 1:06PM

  14. He pretrade man.u along

    From Julie, on Wed 1 Jul 12:59PM

  15. Sad to see him go, I really am. But 80million dollars..­ peace!

    From G, on Wed 1 Jul 12:51PM

  16. @#$%.

    From Bryan, on Wed 1 Jul 12:44PM

  17. utd will only spend a fraction of this money

    From Paul T, on Wed 1 Jul 12:42PM

  18. Though i am a liverpool supporter I have to admit its­ sad to see ronaldo leave the epl after some terrific­ seasons, i used to just sometimes watch man u just to­ watch him play, now this will give liverpool the­ chance to close the gap on man u and hopefully go on­ and win the title in 09-10.

    From George, on Wed 1 Jul 12:37PM

  19. Right, Tevez scored only a few goals last season, utd­ have many players on the bench who can score that many,­ Scholes and Giggs only played bit parts last season,­ Fergie was already starting to faze them out, Foster­ would have played more games if he had been injured and­ Vidic still has many years left.
    getachew44 keep on­ making the rest of us look good if you wish, keep on­ showing we have a better level of education and­ football knowledge than yourself, the more you write­ the more you destroy your own arguement.
    Obviously­ Liverpoll fans want utd to falter, it's the only­ chance Liverpool have of winning the league, Arsenal­ and Chelsea fans are focusing on their teams issues,­ respect to them.

    From clive V, on Wed 1 Jul 12:30PM

  20. REAL MADRID ARE NOT GOING TO WIN ANYTHING.ALL THEIR­ PLAYERS ARE SELFISH,WONT FUNCTION AS A TEAM

    From rafascrackingup, on Wed 1 Jul 12:21PM
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