Transfers - Gossip Shop: All change at United?

Eurosport - Fri, 29 May 08:44:00 2009

Manchester United's Champions League final defeat to Barcelona was disappointing for Reds fans, but it could also prove to be a watershed moment for the club.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Champions League Manchester United Cristiano Ronaldo - 0

After all, who wants to play for a bunch of losers?

Certainly, Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have had a change of heart in the wake of the defeat.

Just a week ago, the flying forward 'unequivocally' pledged his future to his current club, claiming "I only care about what will happen next season at Manchester United".

So it was with a certain degree of surprise (although not too much) to hear Ronaldo respond with a simple "I don't know" when asked on Wednesday night whether he would be at Old Trafford next season.

Real Madrid are sure to have been listening with interest, as the world's most tedious transfer saga ever looks set to bore us all to tears once again this summer.

But any transfer involving Ronaldo - or for that matter the on-going will-he-won't-he Carlos Tevez episode - is sure to pale into insignificance if some of the more reactive (and idiotic) of United fans get their way.

Incredibly, radio phone-in switchboards were jammed at full-time of the Barcelona game, with a small number of 'fans' demanding dramatic changes at the club following the disappointment in Rome.

And changes do not get more dramatic than manager Sir Alex Ferguson leaving after more than 22 years at the club.

Yes, that's right. Some loonies had broken the conditions of their day-release agreements to phone in and actually call for Fergie's head, despite the Scot having landed the Premier League, the Carling Cup and the Club World Cup this season.

Those kind of sentiments have not been heard since 1990 - and for good reason. Fergie's desire, commitment, drive and know-how remains second to none, even after all these years.

Fortunately, the likelihood is that said fans will have woken up this morning with sore heads and taken a few pills before meekly surrendering themselves back to the establishments they escaped from in the first place, and nothing more will be heard of their plans.

Meanwhile, Franck Ribery is set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of John Obi Mikel and Michael Essien by snubbing the overtures of United and plumping for Chelsea instead.

With Ronaldo's future uncertain, the France international has been linked to United. But Chelsea appear to have sneaked in under the radar and are set to nick him from under their rivals' noses.

The Sun reports that a fee of £43m has been agreed with Bayern Munich, with just personal terms yet to be settled. Ribery is said to be holding out for a whopping £125,000-a-week after tax, but Chelsea reluctant to offer more than £90,000.

Over to Milan, where Jose Mourinho, a favourite to succeed Fergie when (if) he ever does retire, is set for a busy summer of transfer activity.

The Internazionale boss has targeted Manchester City midfielder Elano, and is willing to shell out £8 million to get his man - that's one "El of a bid" according to The Sun.

And Chelsea midfielder Deco is also on Mourinho's radar, with the Portuguese keen to link up with his compatriot at the Guiseppe Meazza.

"I can confirm I'm talking with Inter," said Deco in The Sun. "I didn't get to play much this year at Chelsea and a move to Italy would be a very good solution.

"To be coached by Mourinho again would be very interesting. But I don't want to go into details, because it's not me who's dealing with the matter." Natch.

Elsewhere, Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has been checking out Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez with sultry Spanish eyes. The 20-year-old is thought of as a real prospect in his homeland, meaning the Reds would have to dig deep and find something in the region of £10m to secure his services.

West Brom may have been relegated, but striker Marc-Antoine Fortune is hoping to stay in the Premier League next season. The Nancy-owned ace is pondering a move to Portsmouth.

And finally, newly-promoted Wolves are planning a double raid on Wigan Athletic, with Michael Brown and Emerson Boyce - both out of contract at the end of next season - on their wish list, while Blackburn are interested in towering Marseille defender Renato Civelli.

Eurosport

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  1. with 75million, united can buy ribery, benzema, david­ villa or kaka'. train young player like macheda,­ gibson, welbeck and tosic harder, surely they will be a­ star soon, better than cr7. i think manu lose to barca­ because cr7 and vidic became cocky, and rooney.

    From malaysian youth, on Tue 2 Jun 7:29AM

  2. i a think United should sell ronaldo,let tevez go­ heworks hard but does not score enough goals,also sell­ of lame duck berbatov,let rooney play up front in the­ centre,good servants G Neville,Scholes and giggs to be­ run down,future is macheda,welbeck ,gibson.rapheal­ brothers,need to be given more games next season,a good­ signig would be benzema,even rocky but i think a big­ man up front with rooney would be ideal

    From peter, on Tue 2 Jun 6:31AM

  3. united should let ronaldo go, use the 75million form­ real buy valencia and if we can't keep tevez get­ benzema,rooney and benzema will destroy any defence,­ but we (united fans) seem to forget the reason y we­ were embarassed in rome was our midfield , we need a­ solid defensive midfielder and a holding midfielder,­ scholes is retiring and to be honest carrick just­ doesn't do d job and anderson is naturally an­ attacking midfielder not defensive, look at most of the­ teams we lost to this season hit us from d midfiled ,­ liverpool, arsenal,barcelona, also if tevez wants to­ leave fine use less the money for him and get hunterler­ as the next ruud and let rooney play behind him. but­ united need to bolster the midfield nd get a quality­ striker or play berbatov in his normal point man role.

    From Bankole O, on Tue 2 Jun 5:21AM

  4. ronaldo is man utd sell him and your finished wer­ would you get another cheating player who dives for­ free kicks on edge off box , cos i know drogba wont­ play for ur team , good to see cheats like him go

    From KOP MANIA, on Mon 1 Jun 10:50PM

  5. ye should have sold him last season he has no loyalty­ worth a lot less now

    From dermot, on Mon 1 Jun 9:43PM

  6. Mr. Arsene Wenger why wait long, try and start doing­ some negotiations as other coaches are already doing

    From real_funding, on Mon 1 Jun 9:17PM

  7. sell ronaldo get ribery and david villa is that simple­ cos ronaldo is a cheat

    From farahnajah, on Mon 1 Jun 4:08PM

  8. All fans can agrre that ronaldo is a very good player.­ He only lacks the personal attributes of a good player.­ Rooney , Tevez and although lazy Berbatov find their­ jobs harder because of his behaviour. Ferguson spoils­ him. If any other player acts like he does they would­ be gone in a flash. Ronaldo is a very ungrateful­ person. Ferguson picked him up from Sporting Lisbon­ when he was a nobody. With the help of United's­ world class coaches he is now a superstar. He then­ chooses to repay us by Moving to Real. What a baby.­ Days before the Champions League final he said he has­ devoted his career to the club for 1 more season at­ least. After the defeat he has a sudden change of­ heart. UNITED ARE BETTER OFF WITHOUT HIM.

    From badofekan, on Mon 1 Jun 10:16AM

  9. in my opinion MU should let ronaldo go.. these are the­ reasons:
    a) he likes to get attention by falling down­ during a crucial moment
    b) he is selfish person.. not a­ team player.(champions league first 10 minutes)
    c)­ besides that, he is lacking in technical knowledge..­
    this matter, can make him to move to different club...­ unless he change his attitudes..
    hope madrid will look­ for different player.. with the help of zidane they can­ get other players not ronaldo.. (KAKA,RIBERY,XAVI­ ALONSO,FAB,TEVEZ)think first before you act...

    From Riclan, on Mon 1 Jun 3:51AM

  10. good riddance to bad rubbish! let him go, at least Man­ Utd have more 'DEVOTED' players more than him!

    From Tunde, on Sun 31 May 9:03PM

  11. just think about man utd could do if they had the­ money. Keep ronaldo. Buy tevez permantly. Bring kaka­ and ribery in and then maybe even benzema. It would­ cost a bomb but just think about that. They would be­ anyones dream team then

    From matthew_lilley, on Sun 31 May 8:45PM

  12. ronaldo is a @#$% , he shouldnt have come back when he­ did the wink and got rooney sent off , united fans were­ to good to him , with out a doubt he can play some good­ football but he is a treacherous little @#$% , a cheat­ and a diver , i would hate to see him at upton park ,­ and as for the united fans that wanted fergie to be­ sacked are they mad he has been the most successful­ manager at united ,

    From Merlin T, on Sun 31 May 5:46PM

  13. let him go. and fight for kaka and riberry!
    they're­ wayyyyyyyyyyyyy much better than him! totally!!! Geez!

    From Ihu, on Sun 31 May 3:54PM

  14. united are done..almost...fergie will retire in a­ couple of years. then whoever takes over will never be­ able to fit into his shoes and will never be able to­ satisfy the fans or the admin. giggs, scholes, tevez­ and possibly ronaldo all on their way out..as for­ chelsea..new manager..will take time to settle. plus­ they will need some young players for the future. their­ squad is old. liverpool is the future of english­ football. if you don't see that it's because­ you're biased towards your own club or because­ you're plain dumb. rafa will be at liverpool­ another 4 or 5 years. maybe even longer if he's­ successful enough. he's still in his 40s. liverpool­ will sign more and better players. they have already­ secured most of their key players till around 2013-15.­ relatively young squad with more youngsters coming in.­ it wil take a couple of years but liverpool will get­ there. i smell trophies and success. i mean MORE­ success! :D

    From the_smiths_rule, on Sun 31 May 3:08PM

  15. chelsea definitely gettin ribery

    From kyaw z, on Sun 31 May 1:18PM

  16. carlos tevez dont wanna stay at united

    From kyaw z, on Sun 31 May 1:16PM

  17. ade p how many cars wheels did u nick last night,anyway­ how can we be "hasbeens"u beat us twice and­ still came 2nd lol next season will be the same but­ with 2 changes the gooners plus chelski will also be­ above u the same old same old but keep posting please u­ made my sunday

    From gerrard o, on Sun 31 May 11:51AM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    man ure IS the past,­ WELCOME to a new era, i give you­ the mighty­ LIVREPOOL,now step aside old­ "hasbeens" and­ watch the future of English­ football unfold before your­ very eyes, with dazzling­ displays from such players as­ Gerrard, Torres and the­ ICEMAN Alonso, Liverpool are­ near perfection, watch­ and weep Manure...

    From Bike 69, mabaho ka !, on Sun 31 May 10:19AM

  19. ronaldo go ribery come

    From oviejohn, on Sat 30 May 11:29PM

  20. ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE!

    From gunners4 lyfe:), on Sat 30 May 11:13PM
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