SOCCER:CRISTIANO RONALDO has agreed a contract with Real Madrid worth €188,000 a week, according to the Spanish newspaper Marca.
They claim the Manchester United midfielder has decided to commit himself to Madrid for the next five years and will move as soon as an official bid is accepted by Manchester United.
Ronaldo made it clear in an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Terra he wanted the move and said he would not comment on the subject again until after Euro 2008. He is reported to have made it clear he will not welcome a visit from the United manager, Alex Ferguson, after the Scot said they would rather see Ronaldo in the stands than sell to Real Madrid. Those comments appear to have strengthened his resolve to leave.
There seems little doubt that if Madrid put their money where their mouths are and offer a world-record transfer fee, United will have little choice but to accept the bid and spend the money on replacements.
But the news emerges on the same day that Ronaldo's mother - always thought to be a motivation behind a move to Madrid - appeared to suggest he should stay in England. She is reported as telling TV1: "He is happy where he is. Only God knows the future, but what is certain is that he will continue in England."
Ronaldo refuses to talk about his club future to reporters while his country are involved in Euro 2008, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said yesterday. Scolari also said he would not be answering questions about his own future.
"Any question you put to Cristiano Ronaldo tomorrow in the mixed zone he will answer, 'I only talk about Portugal at the Euros'," Scolari told a news conference on the eve of their opening Group A match against Turkey at the Stade de Genève. "So don't waste that question," the Brazilian said.
Scolari, asked if he would consider an offer from Chelsea to become their manager if it were put to him, said: "I'm here as coach of Portugal until the end of the Euro and only respond for the national team.
"I'm not going to say whether I'm going to go this way or the other, whether I'll be renewing (my contract with Portugal) or leaving," added Scolari, who hopes to go one better and steer his team to the trophy after finishing second in 2004.
"There was talk before Euro 2004 and I ended up renewing; there was more talk before the World Cup in 2006 and I renewed."
Scolari, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 before taking charge of Portugal, was courted by England to replace Sven-Goran Eriksson before the tournament in Germany, where he steered the Portuguese to fourth place.
The sports lawyer Mel Goldberg has, meanwhile, warned Manchester United that reporting Real Madrid to Fifa over their pursuit of Ronaldo would have little effect.
Goldberg believes United would have a good case if they did decide to take their case to world football's governing body. But he has forecast that, even if the Spanish giants were found guilty of breaking the rules, any punishment would be minimal.
Goldberg, of Mel Goldberg and Co, said, "If Real Madrid are reported to Fifa, they will probably get a rap on the knuckles.
"I don't know whether they would be expelled from, for example, the European Cup or whether they would be deducted points in the league.
"What Fifa would probably say is you cannot keep a player against his will if he is not happy and wants to go elsewhere.
"They would give some minor castigation and the deal would go through."
Meanwhile, Arsène Wenger has indicated AC Milan would receive short shrift if they were to make an offer for Arsenal's star striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
