Ronaldo deal is taking a few twists and turns

For weeks now we have seen reports linking Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo with a return to Manchester United and over the last few days this rumoured move has started to take a few twists and turns. Perhaps it is a sign that the move is starting to happen, or it is a PR exercise to keep Ronaldo in the media before sealing a massive deal from the Madrid giants. There will only be a few people who actually know the truth, and I don’t think that will be on Twitter!

Last week it came to light that Ronaldo had put his Aravaca house on the market and that his house in Alderley Edge will be vacant this summer. Add this to the suggestion that Ronaldo will not be signing a new contract at Madrid and things certainly look like something is happening. Before the Chelsea match at Old Trafford, during the manager press conference Sir Alex Ferguson said:

“Everything is in place for a big signing. I think that the Glazers have been great.

“Whenever I have asked, they have delivered.
“If I ask to go for a certain player, I think they will do that.
“When I spoke about value in the market a while back, I was talking about young, developing players.
“Maybe there has been a wind of change and I could go for a really top player now.

You can’t help but wonder if a deal to bring Ronaldo back to Old Trafford was already in the mix at that time. But it is clear that the club are looking to bring in at least one stellar signing this summer. Or at least that was the case before Sir Alex announced his retirement, but he knew his decision at that time anyway.

The Sun have run with a story today suggesting that Ronaldo would be looking for a £32 million a year deal to keep him at the Madrid club. This would be £17 million a year in wages, which would work out to £345,000 per week and a 100% share of his image rights which could be as much as £15 million a year. The thing is if Real Madrid give him 100% of his image rights, it may open a can or worms and other players will be asking for the same thing. Real Madrid currently have a 60/40 deal with the player taking the larger cut so if all the players asked for 100%, it would surely cut the clubs revenue considerably.

There also seems to be some word twisting by the press about something Ronaldo said after Portugal’s 1-0 victory over Russia in the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualification last night. Various media outlets have suggested Ronaldo said:

“I am well, calm and not worried about it. I know we will reach a deal.”

But Eurosport and Sky Sports suggest that he actually said:

“I have not spoken to anyone [at Madrid] but the important thing right now is the [national] team.”

It certainly gives you food for thought about what is actually going on right now. Perhaps Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is on a damage limitation exercise and should Ronaldo actually make a move away from Real Madrid, it could make Ronaldo look like the one that has done the dirty on the club. Just an opinion based on everything I have read over the last few weeks!

I am not subscribing to any of the talk about Ronaldo and certainly getting my hopes up. Right now any move is 50/50 in my opinion and we will just have to wait and see what actually happens. I remember the Sneijder saga in the summer of 2010 and learned my lesson then. It is good to read what the ITK types are saying on Twitter, some might be right, others are clearly taking the mickey, but at the end of the day it is up to you what you believe.