Is the ‘Special One’ a bad influence on the La Liga giants.

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Clearly the financial downturn means little to the Real Madrid President!
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You wouldn’t be surprised if redundancies were announced on Fleet Street after this latest news concerning one of the best football players in the world. After all, journalists are going to have one less thing to write about in the summer, if indeed reports are true that Real Madrid have called off the hunt for Manchester United’s most prized asset. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Sir Alex Ferguson has probably never had to work the media so hard as this summer. Like the Manchester rain, the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid has been a constant threat. Just when the sun appears to be shining on that front, along comes the loveable rogue that is Roman Calderon to undermine the Scot and tell the world that the player wants to come and play at the lovely Bernabeu. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Last Friday, we reported that Sir Alex Ferguson was confidently asserting that Cristiano Ronaldo would be ‘mine, all mine’ for at least another season at Old Trafford. However, good old Roman Calderon, a brilliant example of someone who never gives up, is now begging to differ.

The Daily Mirror report that the Real Madrid chairman is still hopeful of sealing the £70million deal before the start of the Spanish season, does somebody want to tell him or shall I? Or were Fergie’s comments an attempt to ward off the Spanish champions, or even make them up their offer for the player?

“This type (of transfer) is hard,” Calderon said when asked about Ferguson’s comments. “But we’re going to go for it all the same.

“I suppose this is their way of letting us know clearly that they’re not going to lower the price.”

When asked about Ronaldo by the Madrid players on the first day of pre-season training, Calderon reportedly said: “Don’t worry, we have it all sorted.”

Will the Scot be left with egg on his face when Ronnie leaves rainy Manchester for Spain? He’s certainly raised the stakes with last week’s comments, and you have to hand it to him for acting cool as a cucumber.

Real Madrid have quite publicly been chasing Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo all summer, with many people bounding figures like £60million or £80million about. However, Real have made a move to distance themselves from their “best talent at all costs” image in the press. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Do you reckon that the Cristiano Ronaldo ‘situation’ will be resolved by the end of June? [Read the rest of this entry »]

The Spanish champions have previously spent close to £50million in order to bring Zinedine Zidane to the club, and it appears they’re ready to pay even more to ensure that Cristiano Ronaldo is wearing the white of Real Madrid next season. Sky Sports report that chairman Roman Calderon has no qualms about parting with a bucketload of cash in order to sign their number one target this summer, although his club could be in hot water if FIFA do find them guilty of unsettling the player.

“The price is not important,” Calderon is quoted as saying in The Sun.

“We had a player like Zidane who came here for £47m and it was a magnificent investment. It’s not a question of money but a question of efficiency.”

“The case of Cristiano does not affect the image of the club abroad. I would be proud if big clubs made multi-million offers for Real Madrid players,” he said, also stating that Ronaldo will decide his own future and not United.

“In the end, if a player wants to leave – whatever the offer is – he will walk. The question is to give him guarantees of success.”

Isn’t Calderon funny, repeatedly rejecting claims that his club are doing anything untoward and then making utterances such as the above, which are bound to wind up the powers-that-be at Old Trafford even further. Let’s hope these teams meet in the Champions League next season, where we might see some feisty exchanges on and off the pitch!

It’s fair to say that relations between Manchester United and Real Madrid have reached a new low during the month of June. The reason? A player that goes by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has improved so much in the past couple of seasons, that most football managers would forsake a kidney to have him among their flock.

The Times reports that the feud continues apace, with Real Madrid claiming that there has been no wrongdoing with regard to their pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo (apart from the occasional love letter from Roman Calderon). United have reported the Spanish champions to FIFA for unsettling their prize asset, something that the Spaniards are at pains to deny.

But Calderon is adamant his club have no case to answer. “They don’t have any evidence because nothing has happened,” he said. “All there is is what the papers say and rumours that the player seems to want to leave. But at the moment a move is impossible because United don’t want to sell him.

“It’s United’s right [to complain] but we haven’t done anything and we are not going to do anything. It’s a matter between the player and his club.

“This Cristiano matter does not worry me nor am I obsessed by it,” he told Spanish newspaper, Marca. “While he doesn’t play for Madrid all we can do is hope, although it’s clear that he would be a great signing and would adapt well to our squad.”

Who knows what goes on behind the scenes, although the powers-that-be at Old Trafford will try every trick in the book if it means keeping their mercurial talent at the club. Ultimately, it appears that Real have done very little wrong, especially compared to the repeated tapping-up of players that Manchester United have become renowned for over the years.

Sir Alex Ferguson is not a man to be messed with, as many people will testify over the years. However, Real Madrid don’t appear to be bothered about the Manchester United manager’s comments regarding their ‘lack of morals’ when pursuing Cristiano Ronaldo. Indeed, the Spanish giants claim that everything has been above board when shamelessly flirting with the Red Devils number seven, who has spoken of his desire to one day play in Spain.

The Press Association report the following:

Real chairman Calderon, however, insists his club have “conducted themselves exquisitely” in the whole affair telling sports daily Marca: “I am really surprised to hear what he said about us. I don’t understand Ferguson. Real Madrid have conducted themselves exquisitely in this whole affair with Cristiano Ronaldo.”

He added: “We have always said that he is a player who has a contract and that Manchester United is a club that does not sell. That’s everything.”

He isn’t the first and won’t be the last when it comes to not understanding Fergie, although it’s usually to do with the Glaswegian’s accent rather than mixed messages. It’s clear that their conduct has been far from exquisite with their overtures in the direction of the world’s best player, although the main culprit behind this speculation is of course Ronaldo, who has been ambiguous over his Old Trafford future.