MANCHESTER UNITED have confirmed they intend to replace Cristiano Ronaldo with Antonio Valencia once they have completed the world-record €94 million transaction with Real Madrid. Ronaldo is expected to fly to Spain to conclude the transfer in the next few days but is unhappy about plans for a joint press conference with Kaka because he would rather have his own event.
Madrid had been planning to unveil the two figureheads of their new galactico era in one presentation but Kaka is currently with the Brazil squad in South Africa, preparing for their defence of the Confederations Cup, and Ronaldo is reluctant to wait until the former Milan player is back because he says he has holiday plans.
His agent, Jorge Mendes, will be in Madrid this weekend and is also said to want guarantees that Ronaldo’s salary will be greater than Kaka’s so that it reflects his standing as the world footballer of the year and, imminently, the most expensive player on the planet.
Ronaldo then intends to join his family on a cruise around the Caribbean islands before joining Madrid to begin his preparation for his first season in La Liga, with the Spaniards scheduled to hold a training camp in Co Kildare on July 13th-22th.
While the logistics are sorted out, United will return to Wigan Athletic to complete the signing of Valencia for a fee in the region of €20 million. Valencia, a fast and powerful right-winger with 34 caps for Ecuador, will have the formidable task of filling the void left by Ronaldo’s departure. United have also informed clubs inquiring about Nani that he is not for sale.
“They (United) have been in touch with us and we will be starting (formal) negotiations very shortly, I would imagine,” Dave Whelan, the Wigan chairman, said. “United have been in touch with us over Antonio over the last two or three months, expressing an interest and putting cash offers on the table. Things will develop over the next seven to 14 days.”
United first contacted Wigan once they learned of Real Madrid making an €21 million bid for Valencia in January. At that stage United, despite their denials, were already aware of Ronaldo’s intentions to follow his “dream” of a move to the Bernabeu.
“It was only a matter of time,” Juande Ramos, the Spanish club’s manager at the time, said last night. “We already knew that Real Madrid had a pre-contract agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo. I don’t know exactly when that agreement was made, but I do know it was in place.”
Valencia (23) has already shown the Old Trafford crowd a glimpse of his talent, producing a man-of-the-match performance when Wigan lost 1-0 at Old Trafford in January, but United’s initial valuation of the player has fallen after he ended the season in disappointing form.
Nonetheless, United confidently expect the deal to go through, though Valencia’s former club Villarreal are apparently due a sell-on fee of up to 20 per cent which may be a complication.
A spokesman for the club’s owners, the Glazer family, reiterated there would be more money for Ferguson to spend on new players if necessary. David Gill, United’s chief executive, has told colleagues the club will not bid for Franck Ribery at Bayern Munich, but Lyon’s Karim Benzema is a realistic though potentially expensive target if, as Ferguson fears, Carlos Tevez decides not to accept the club’s offer of a permanent deal. Tevez’ two-year loan arrangement at Old Trafford expires on June 30th.
The Glazers’ spokesman said: “Only the paranoia of some supporters would lead you to believe the owners are not going to continue investing in the team. A substantial number of world-class players have been brought to the club in the past few years and that will still be the case.”
The suggestion of “paranoia” is unlikely to go down well with United’s supporters at a time when they are still digesting the news that Ronaldo’s transfer was put in place almost a year ago. However, Ronaldo might not be as badly missed as he would imagine if a poll on the Red Issue website can be regarded as an accurate gauge of fan opinion. Of 632 supporters who responded, 321 said they were “sad” to see Ronaldo leave while 311 thought “good riddance”.
Alexis Sanchez’ agent claims Manchester United want to sign the Udinese forward.
Meanwhile, the Chile international’s representative, Fernando Felicevich, claims Manchester United are one of a number of Premier League clubs in talks about a potential deal for the 20-year-old.
Sanchez impressed in Serie A last season after spending the previous campaign on loan with Argentinian outfit River Plate and now it looks like he could be set for a move to England.
“My partner is currently in England working on the transfer of Alexis,” Felicevich said. “Yes, we have spoken to Manchester United, but . . . we have also held talks with other English teams.”
