The expected transfer of Inter Milan's Brazilian World Cup star Ronaldo to Real Madrid broke down today due to "insurmountable differences" according to Madrid’s website.
"Real Madrid states that insurmountable differences exist between the club and Inter Milan concerning the transfer of Ronaldo," read a Real statement.
"It has been seemingly impossible to arrive at a satisfactory agreement during the friendly and frank negotiations this morning, which has forced both clubs to bring the talks to an end".
Ronaldo's long-awaited move to the Spanish giants now looks off, although given the hot and cold nature of the transfer talks in recent weeks, an eventual move can not be ruled out.
The 25-year-old striker has been keen to leave Inter since the end of the World Cup and had looked to have obtained his wish following a meeting between the presidents of both sides yesterday.
Inter president Massimo Moratti met with his Real counterpart Florentino Perez, according to the Italian sports daily Gazzetta delle Sport, in a bid to iron out the finer details of what seemed a certain transfer after weeks of hot and cold speculation.
Following the talks Real were ready to offer Inter 12 million plus two players from a choice which includes Fernando Morientes, Flavio Conceicao and Argentine midfielder Santiago Solari.
Although Inter were hoping the transfer fee mounts to around 20 million, Real's offer is a lot less than Inter had originally hoped for.
Inter had initially slapped a 100 million price tag on Ronaldo, who had a hugely successful World Cup after years of uncertainty caused mainly by injury and two knee operations.
Real then offered 50 million plus players for the Brazilian, who would join Spanish international Raul up front for the Spanish side.
Real boast some of the best players in the world including French international midfielder Zinedine Zidane, who arrived on a record transfer fee from Juventus in 2001.
Luis Figo, the Portuguese international midfielder, had been transferred, amid controversy, from their arch rivals Barcelona the previous year.