Jun 20
Portugal Knocked Out But Ronaldo Talks
I saw this link directly from the Guillem Balague exclusive interview (from his website) with Ronaldo, after writing this article. [thanks Ben from the comments] So I suggest you read that interview before reading my post, because what I wrote doesn’t really matter now.
So Portugal, after a mini-drama that threatened to spoil my day, got knocked out by a German side that knew how to get things done. To be fair, the Ballack goal was dodgy because of his push. But otherwise, fair play to the Germans. Nani injected some pace into the side after his introduction and was instrumental in their second goal. If he progresses well, then be sure that the likes of Madrid and Barcelona will come knocking in two years’ time.
But, of course, Portugal’s defeat will be reported more like an afterthought. The chief concern for reporters (and United fans) was the post match comments, in the event of Portugal’s defeat: will Ronaldo make up his mind?
So we finally get to hear some soundbites from him regarding his club future and I will quote it here:
The possibilities (of going to Real) are big but it doesn’t depend on me and because of that I don’t want to talk about it,” the 23-year-old winger told reporters after Portugal’s 3-2 quarter-final defeat by Germany at Euro 2008. Asked if there had been an offer from Real, he said: “I think so, I don’t know. In the next few days we’ll see if we reach an agreement. Everyone knows what I want. But in the next two or three days you’ll have something new.” Asked when he had made the decision about his future he said: “Some time ago, before this competition. I didn’t want to say anything because we were in competition and these are important decisions.” He was asked by reporters whether he wanted to leave for personal or sporting reasons: “Personal, it’s something I want, something I dream about, he said before quoting the advice of Portugal’s Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. (It is) a dream, a step forward… For me it’s a very good opportunity. As Scolari says, this only happens once.” He added that leaving Manchester United would be difficult “but I think it could be good for both (of us)”.
Hmm… where do I start? To be honest, I didn’t expect him to make his decision in “two to three days”; I thought he would do it in two-three weeks, so this is a surprise.
But the bottomline is this: he says he’s made his decision much earlier. So clearly he’s looking to engineer a move. Either that or a pay rise. He reckons him moving away is good for both parties — hmm, I’m bitter so I could say that it’s good for us that he moves, but honestly he’s been our best player. So in the short term it’s certainly not good for us, apart from the money.
I have been against Ronaldo of late, but that stand was the most difficult one I’ve had to take — a player that I loved really doesn’t want to stay and continues to keep us guessing about his future even when, in his mind, he’s made it up. His desire to hog the limelight on the pitch didn’t bother me as much as his obsession off it.
I don’t think we can have much complaints about Scolari giving him advice, because Ronaldo reveres him.
I still suspect a scenario like this happening:
Ronaldo says he wants to move to Real. Real approach United with X million quid, and United say: “Er… we’re not sure if we’ve mentioned this before but Ronaldo is not for sale, which means he won’t be sold, which means he won’t be going to Madrid.”
Then Ronaldo will go to Gill who, along with Sir Alex will say: “Son, as we said, cry as much as you want, you’re going nowhere.”
It’s not the smartest thing to do, if you think about it, and the smart money would be on United taking the cash plus a player for Ronaldo. But for everyone’s satisfaction let’s wait and hear what he has to say in two to three days. I can’t be bothered either way, at this point. Keep him at United: good. Sell him to Madrid: good.
What I would really be interested is to be a fly on the wall in a room where Ronaldo sits with Fergie and Queiroz and summons the courage to tell them that he wants to leave.
In Ronaldo related news, he wants to have an operation because he was carrying an injury during the last three months. Well, I must say well done Ronnie for playing through the pain and thanks for such an outstanding season.
Getting back to the issue of Ronaldo leaving United, I read another story on Sky Sports News and he spoke to Guillem Balague. I will just quote a couple of lines from the article, [you could read the rest by following the link] and you can draw your own conclusions from this:
When asked if he thinks his dream will come true, he told Sky Sports’ Guillem Balague: “I really hope so, lets see.” Ronaldo, who did confirm he decided his future prior to United’s Champions League success in Moscow, has stated he does not mind upsetting fans and Ferguson in order to get what he wants. “It is my opinion, that is why I don’t mind if people get upset. It is my decision. It is what I want,” he concluded.
To me it’s apparent where he wants to go. How about you?
Addendum: And this was after reading the Balague interview in full. I say, the boy does not want to stay. Let’s for once prove that we can do good business. Let’s drag Madrid, add all sorts of sell-on clauses + goal bonuses + sneijder + plus sizeable cash upfront. I’m on dream mode right now, but I hope some of it is true if Ronaldo is sold.
Related items from Red Rants:
- United’s Transfer Strategy — Is There More to Their Denial?
- Short Thursday Roundup
- Rossi vs Nani Videos from Portugal vs Italy U21 game
- Conflicting Reports Cast Cloud Over Fergie-Ronaldo “Meeting”
- Ronaldo Scores, Players Come Through Unscathed… So Far
Tags: Manchester United News
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Jay Jay; The Special One also thought Ballack was crap. He doesn’t know everything either but he was in hindsight right about Ronaldo. Being from the same country he may have been privy to more information about the man and his personality. Who knows?
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I really rate Tuncay as a player. A complete team man, creative as hell, got trickery, scores and assists as well. WE dont need him though, cause we got two players Rooney and Tevez who are in the similar mould and who are better than him. Anyway, Tuncay is playing really well…already has had some eye-catching moments in the first 30 mins.
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god, summer is bloody boring, im sick of the word ronaldo, the week we didnt talk about him was probably the best week of the summer. sigh, i need a signing, sell or even a video fergie farting would be nice.
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I honestly dont care if ronaldo leaves. Fuck him. But man, if anderson and nani follow him out the door i will be fucking depressed. please dont leave Andersonsonson
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Drew Vader; I wouldn’t worry about them leaving quite yet. They are young and haven’t proven anything. We’ll worry about their ego’s and intentions in 2 to 3 years from now when the likes of Real Madrid will start hovering like a hungry buzzard looking for prey.
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anyone else enjoying watching Croatia play?? First, Modric is fantastic, what a coup for Spurs. Watching him battle it out with cesc will be quite enjoyable, not to mention our midfield magician. But mostly, its refreshing to see their approach to the game and to sportsmanship. A Croat player will be absolutly taken out by a Turk, and there is no rolling around clutching their face or screaming towards the heavens, they just get up, dust themselves off and shake the turks hand. Its brilliant to watch. Just a philosophy of “fouls happen, lets get on with it.” Its black and white from the portugal german game.
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I’m surprised nobody mentioned Ronaldo’s pathetic play acting yesterday after he was hardly touched. He delayed his reaction, looked around and then acted like he was shot. Now FIFA and EUFA should come down on such a blatant act of poor sportsmanship and gamesmanship. It was so obvious that he should get a future ban for trying to get the referee to unjustly give a German a yellow or red card. A real disgrace. He’s just getting worse and worse as a human being. I don’t know what the Hell is wrong with him?
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Modric is the shining light in a steaming pile of shit of a game. Turkey have just tried to spoil the game. I hope they lose.
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Grog…what about Ballack in the first half, when he was barely touched across the shoulder in an innocent challenge, but becausethe Portugues were in possession, he grabs his face and rolls around on the ground like he was dying until they put the ball out of play. Then, he gets up, grimaces a little just to carry it out a little better, then miracoulsly he is healed and back in the frey.
I’m sorry, but i absolutly HATE ballack. If you’re german, then there is nothing wrong at all with supporting your national side, but i honestly dont know how any football fan could support a side that has both ballack AND jens lehman. Both of them disgust me.
And it should have been a foul on his goal, a blatant two handed push
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[Grognard]
It wasnt a delayed reaction. It seemed to me as well, but infact after he was felled, then someone (i think schweinsteiger) stepped slightly on his boot. That was when he started screaming.
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Germany are sly cheats and Ballack is the worst of the lot. They don’t indulge in the all out histrionics of the Portugese, but they know how to play-act, they know how to break up the flow of the game, and they know how to get away with sly acts of cheating such as the Ballack push last night. What’s worse is that Turkey have just defended their way past Croatia, giving Germany the easiest of all semi-finals. Germany fluke their way to a final again without impressing anyone, just like WC 2002. The only hope for football now is Holland and Spain.
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RedAddict; Please spare me with that. So you don’t like Germans. I get it. They do nothing more than any other nation in the game.
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Note to Juande Ramos! Never pick Luka Modric to take your penalties.
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Have to feel sorry for Croatia. Bilic has really impressed me and they played well enough to win and in good spirit.
Regarding the German-Portugal game, it was generally played in bad spirit and I think both sides were equally culpable.
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TurkishRED; I told you to have faith and now you are rewarded yet once more. That team has a lot of heart but I do have to be honest and I think their luck will run out against Germany. Like Portugal they have a serious height deficiency against Germany and all those injuries and suspensions to key players is just going to hurt, not to mention having just played 120 minutes. Then again, when you have that kind of heart and courage, anything is possible. Still, it will take twice the effort because the Germany team that played yesterday is far different in attitude and confidence than the one that took Croatia lightly. I’d like to say good luck but I can’t do that to my German lads. Should be a cracker of a match. Prediction; Germany 3-1.
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Robinho plus 60 mil for ronaldo. Use the money for van der vaart and etoo plus defender. Problem solved.
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grognard we have the money. You say have been concerned for awhile now. Where was your concern last year when fergie bought nani, Anderson, Hargreaves and put a down payment on tevez? Be patient, fergie knows what he is doing. It would be foolish to start spending before you know your gonna lose ronaldo for sure. I too an desperate for a signing but I have a feeling fergie knows exactly who he wants and he is just being tight lipped about it. And trust me the money is there.
For all you concerned about the 700 million lbs debt, let me ask you a question. How many of you home owners out there bought your house in cash. I can’t speak for canada or Europe but in the states a upper middle class home goes for 700k-1m. Now I have never met anyone who bought their house outright. They all take out loans. It may cost more but in the long run your money goes further cause it isn’t all tied up in your house(I know this is over simplified but bare with me for the sake of argument) so if millions of people can buy homes which can be 6-7 times their annual income without being in financial ruin. Then why are the glazers considered financially ruined when they have the capital to erase the debt tommorow? And let’s not forget, they don’t own a home but a multi billion dollar llc. You don’t think united can generate more than 70 million a year? Of they couldnt, nobody would have loaned the glazers a dime.
So unless someone can show me some figures to prove otherwise, I will continue to sleep good at night knowing United will be there when I wake up.
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[steve]
What part of “You can’t resort to personal attacks” don’t you understand?
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Lets look at it this way, Eric spent 5 glorious years with united and remains a constant supporter of the club as well as a reminder of the loyalty, humble maturity and honesty which escapes most modern players, he’ll forever be united’s king and one of the greats, a man who never belittled the opinions of the fans as ficell and goal hungry beyond all else. Players willing to give up their time and effort to learn more about the club and its history (ie) Patrice Evra and those who resisted the price tags offered abroad (ie) Giggsy are our true servants. Now compare this with Ronaldos 5 years, some great football from the lad, but that lets face it, he did overshadow the efforts of our other players somewhat and his ego has grown exponentially in recent months. Lets just call it a day with CR7 and retire the shirt for a little while, maybe hand it over to tevez, god knows hell deserve it soon enough. Repeating the thoughts of others from earlier, id like to say thanks for the memories, now fuck off abroad. Im actually thinking positively about the whole affair, despite the premier league appearing like a poor relation during this transfer window (hello world – 3 champs league semi finalists and the undoubted Best league in the world???) with talents like drogba, adebayor, ronaldo, hleb etc all seemingly off im looking forward to a new era in the english game, its time to blood the new stars and unleash rooney alongside the hunter, robinho or the next great young talent.
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Johnsom33; The problem is simple. None of us know if they have the money or not. Last year they didn’t record a huge financial loss like they did this year. Fergie may know what he’s doing but he is playing with fire because a lot of teams with more financial flexibility are also waiting to pounce on the few truly worthwhile stars available. Also this team needs players regardless of Ronaldo leaving. We would have needed a striker anyway as well as a few backups at key positions. Nothing would make me happier than to see Fergie prove me wrong and go on a major shopping spree. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. I also think that for whatever reason, a lot of players don’t seem to want to come here. At least from our projected targets. Only the secondary choices seem interested. Time will tell.
And you don’t have to lecture me at least on the use of money. Anybody who knows high end economics knows the golden rule that one should never use their own money to buy anything. They just need to use it as collateral to secure the loan. The Glazers have money but like a lot of American businessman in the last two years, they have been murdered by volatile interest rates and a declining dollar so I for one am pretty sure I know where they are standing right now. Or should I say swimming. For people like the Glazer’s United is nothing more than a tax shelter so it’s good that they aren’t showing big profits. But the debt right now has got to be killing them.
Nobody is privy to the figures they are playing with so feel free to sleep well at night. For now.
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Everyone seems to be thinking he’ll leave, but i honestly think he’ll stay(not that i give a rats arse anymore), but its just a gut feeling i have and who knows, i might turn out to be wrong or right. If he leaves, i see Nani going soon too, anyone remember his quotes when we signed him? “To play with RONALDO again would be fantastic” This was my basis for saying i doubt Nani would be loyal to be club some few back. I really don’t see who we’d replace him(Ronaldo) with, everyone thinks buying Kaka, Messi or whoever would be like waving a wand, players have ambitions too, and it doesn’t matter if we sell Ronaldo for 50+ and have loads of cash, what if the players everyone are touting as his replacement, aren’t interested in joining United? I really don’t buy the Nani replacement thing anymore, i don’t think putting so much weight on his shoulders in his second season will turn out well. And no offence, i don’t feel good putting all our hopes of goals on Tevez and Rooney either. If he DOES leave, i think we’d be needing 3 or 4 players instead of 2 as Fergie had said.
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Kaka has stated he dreams of playing in Man Utd, Couple that with the talent we KNOW he possesses, i think that it is a good deal, and a good deal possible! with our youthful platform and mobile attack, i know man utd can make him shine brighter than our heartbreaker….
I keep saying that we should buy Kaka because in football, nothing is absolute and if we can sell ronaldo, we can definately buy Kaka.
about needing 3 or 4 players, yeah, i heartily agree. We need a Winger, a Midfielder, a Striker and a Defender.
I definately am not trying to force my opinions down anybody’s throat, but i wanna keep saying out my hopeful transfer targets because back when rooney was still in everton, i kept saying we should buy him and i am a lil superstious….. like on match days i wear my man utd jersy and sit a specific way… hahahaha i know i am arrogant to even think i matter, but if it even helps manutd a fraction of a percent, i gladly do it.
so in hopes my silly superstitions work….
KAKA, ARSHAVIN, HUNTELAAR, and a Random but good defender! *crossing fingers*
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http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1369602/video/R/CFD_1002/
i do not know how to link this properly but i hope it works. anyway, watch the video and u will see Black vs White Jerseys
and at the focal point of the video(you will know when it is), u will notice it is a Real Madrid Jersey and 2 seconds later the Black jersey is revealed to be the Man Utd away strip….
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To Wink: The Kaka rumour was a hoax from the guys at redcafe, he never said he dreams of playing for United, he’ll probably end his career at United cus he has something called loyalty.
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*Sorry i meant he’ll end his career at Milan.
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Those guys at redcafe really got everyone good. Hook, line, and sinker. Absolutely hilarious.
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i didnt even see the article at red cafe… i read it in an online news site some time back. i dont know if it was based on that fraudulant red cafe article, but who knows…
i still say we should try. messi isnt any more of a possibility compared to kaka. but i rate the brazilian higher. going along with the ‘big club’ dicussion and all, if we can land a player of his Proven calibre, who knows, it might wake up some fool football players to the club status…
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http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/06/21/why_united_should_let_this_ego.html
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Grognard, It was an amazing game and I was happy just to see Turkey get as far as the quarterfinals. Now, getting to the semifinals is just a gift to 70 million plus people in Turkey. And to the diaspora as well. The semifinals is a great achievement for Turkey.
Anyway, I really don’t care what will happen against Germany. I have hope, but the injuries and suspensions don’t bode well. Switzerland, Czech Republic and Croatia were all teams that were more even with Turkey’s play.
Germany on the other hand is a ruthlessly efficient footballing machine that will likely rip Turkey’s defense to utter shreds, especially if Servet isn’t playing.
Well, as I have seen over the past three games, anything is possible in football.
Prediction: 2-4 to Germany
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TurkishRED; Yes I really do see those injuries and suspensions hurting the Turks badly against Germany but you never know. Still, a machine like Germany isn’t about to allow Turkey to keep it from reaching another final in a big tournament. But lets not forget a little minnow by the name of Greece and how they seemed to do the business regardless the opposition in 2004. But they never had to play a German or Italian team. The French and the Czechs are notorious for coughing one up against anybody. Germany only really loses a meaningful game to teams like Italy or Brazil. I think Turkey will really miss Emre. Their lack of size will hurt them like it hurt Portugal but they have some great finishers who only need half chances to get a goal so with a little luck they could steal the game 1-0 or 2-1. We all know what would happen if they went to penalties. The German machine just does not lose in penalty kick situations. I’ve got to believe that and every time they get into one I always say maybe this time, but it just never happens. Like I said earlier, 3-1 Germany unless Turkey can take advantage of their superior pace and get around Germany’s defense. Their CB’s are strong in the air and physical but a bit slow and Friedrich is playing out of position when he plays RB. You know, Portugal didn’t play a bad game offensively against them.
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Everybody should go to the Guardian and read Daniel Taylor’s latest article on Ronaldo and why United should let him go. Very illuminating.
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Also a fantastic article by Terry Venables in the Sun echoing what I have said for three weeks about United being in a situation to rock the footballing world and defend the game from this kind of poor bahavior and breach of contract. Check it out at the SUN.
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Man Utd Lineup 08/09 (4-2-3-1):
Van der Sar
Lahm* Rio Vidic Evra
Owen Ando
VDVaart* Rooney Podolski*
Huntelaar*
Subs:
Foster
Brown
Carrick
Scholes
Giggs
Nani
Tevez
p/s: Ronaldo sold to Real Madrid for 100mil pounds.
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[Grognard]
You know my opinion on Daniel Taylor very well. I hate him for his substandard reporting mostly without any sources whatsoever; he was the same person who wrote, Fergie thought buying Anderson was a mistake after the Coventry City game.
Yes I agree with the point of his article entirely this time, but I find his writing about the Ronaldo incident now, after all this mess that’s happened a little cheap. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with him about Ronaldo’s ego spiralling out of control but saying the press corps chose not to write about the incident then and now running the story sounds a little hypocritical of him. It just feels like ok, now he’s known for what he is, let’s massacre him.
So as a piece of journalism it’s poor.
But in terms of idea, well, I guess we knew it all along, didn’t we? However, for me, just because I agree entirely with the article doesn’t make it fantastic, because the approach towards writing the piece didn’t seem right to me.
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And you know what really pisses me off? That Ronaldo, if sold to Madrid, will win the WPOTY as a Madrid player. For Fuck’s Sake!
That’ll be hard to take.
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this shud cheer up poor old soul that is known by the name of Grognard on this site
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1028010/Podolski-ponders-Bayern-exit-puts-Manchester-United-Tottenham-red-alert.html
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You know, what I haven’t read from you guys is that why can’t we ask for half of what Real gets from the sales of the Ronaldo merchandise? Can we do that? They say that they’ll probably get 1bil. from him so why can’t we get half of that?
60-80mil up front and half of the merchandising sales off Mr. Traitor. Good enough right? No need for the player exchange.
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Love Ronaldo to pieces for what he’s done at Man U, and he will always be remembered fondly for bringing us the double last season.
Still, we all know that he is an arrogant, cocky, cheating premadonna. Loyalty in football only exists amongst a very special few nowadays, and Ronaldo is certainly not one of them.
Not like he’ll be running down his contract or anything is it? We’ll still get £50m+ for him which isn’t too shabby.
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RR: I did have to laugh when I read the article, since when did the press ever find themselves a moral streak, Munich disaster or not! The article really does strike of ‘look at me, I’m so smart I knew this would happen all along’. Always easy to say after the event. And I would’t worry about the WPOTY thing, he may win it in Madrid colours but everyone will know the award is based on a League/CL double win and unfortunately I don’t see any CL trophy in Madrid’s cupboard
Jezta: The reason it wouldnt work is because we would be told to sling our hook as soon as we asked for a spilt of the merchandising.
Grognard: I’m not sure where you are getting the financial stuff from. The club itself has made increased profits year on year since the Glazer’s arrived. The interest repayments have been kept in a series of holding companies and have been there since day one of the takeover. I am not trying to say if the club is in a good financial position or not, but there is nothing to suggest that it is any worse off the last year.
In addition we don’t have any idea if targets want to come or not. We have nothing but media tittle tattle to try and figure out what our transfer priorities are. Maybe Lahm, Huntelaar and Alves were never even under serious consideration in the first place.
mamatos: Don’t like it, I think your wide men would tuck in far too much. I wouldn’t really call either of them natural wide players either. If we were looking for wingers I quite like the look of Da Silva and Asharvin.
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jos; he is being linked to City in the article. I don’t know why the title has United though…
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mamatos that would not work ando in cm he plays acm and huntelaar upfront on his own his workrate is not good enough sell ronaldo for £75mil and buy richards,get robinho part exchange for ronaldo and get ribery,huntelaar.
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I say let him join madrid if they give us Ramos, Drenthe, Sniejder and Robinho. I’d be more than happy with that but knowing Ronaldo he will want to be in the record books as the highest transfer of all time just to fuel his ego even further…..
I cant believe how everyone is suddenly desperate for Podolski to join us after 4 fairly average displays. And neither is the overated Schweinstiger – he had a good game against Portugal we must sign sign sign!!!! No, actually we wont.
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Schniejder and Ramos plus £100 million might be worth it. Although I love the idea of taking a cut of merchandising.
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yea i dont get why people are saying we should sign Schweinstiger, he looks like a mid table player at best in my opinion, but podolski, he looks a real talent, and the prospect of him partnering tevez or rooney is mouth watering. To bad he isnt english….
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Arshavin wants to leave Zenit, Fergie move in NOW!
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3718653,00.html
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Fergie….Forget Ronaldo..there are lot of another player who has high skill as Ronaldo,U have create One Ronaldo,what the difficult to u to create an another Ronaldo…
COME ON FERGIE WE ALWAYS BEHIND U
CURSE U RONALDO…U WILL NEVER EVER RAISE A SINGLE SILVERWARE EVER,EVEN UNTIL YOUR MOM DIE……
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I got to see some videos of Arshavin and i should say i am dumbstruck…He looks better than many of the names mentioned here…If Ronaldo leaves, we should get this guy…he is not the one for sub bench..Oohh i am really impressed and doesnt appreciate seeing him in any other rival club..
But he really need target man but i think he can still play with Rooney and Tevez and make an awesome partnership…
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RR Real might get our WPOTY but we have the WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR!
Arshavin’s fantastic. Destroyed Sweden. His 27 isn’t he?
People are asking us to sign Schwiensteiger cause he just played the game of his life against Portugal. I doubt his talent is suited for English football.
GOOOOOOOOOOO! Sign us some quality Fergie!
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Arshavin Arshavin Arshavin. I do believe and correct me if I’m wrong RR but I brought this lad’s name up three months ago. I said then before they had even played Bayern in the Semi’s that this is is a player we should seriously look at as a replacement for either Giggs or Scholes. I’m elated that some out there are finally cluing in to the fact this lad is special and that United haven’t made a move for him surprises me. Especially after Fergie was at the UEFA Cup final and he had a chance to see the Russian destroy Rangers with his runs and passes. And yes he can score too. Honestly, he would be a close second on my want list after Huntelaar. Instead, many of us Arshavin fans will be heartbroken to see Arsene Wenger get one up on us again. And why? Because Fergie is obsessed with Ronaldo and nothing else seems to matter right now. Principle or no principle, you will lose him so it’s prudent and wise to start shopping for replacements and for that striker we would have needed regardless of whether Ronaldo was to leave or not. To the brain trust at OT, GET OFF YOUR DUFFS! Do something already. You are driving millions of hard core supporters mad with your inaction.
Jezta brings up a very valid and important point when it comes to the inevitable sale of Ronaldo. The licensing rights. United stand to lose millions in jersey sales, image sales and other merchandise where Ronaldo is depicted or represents United as a player. Along with Beckham he is the most marketable player in the world and the money made from his Man Utd licensing is massive, especially in Asia. Therefore, when one really looks at things, Ronaldo is worth a lot more than 100 million to the team. So what is Madrid prepared to do about that significant a loss over the next 4 years of his contract? Their latest offer is bloody well insulting. 45 million and Wesley Sneijder. Take that offer and shove it where your wife sticks her nose at night Mr. Calderon. Try 100 million, Wesley Sneijder and 15% of Real’s licensing profits from Ronaldo merchandise over the next 4 years. If United take a penny less than 100 million they are total chumps.
JB; Wasn’t it big news a little over a month ago when it came out that United had a significant loss in revenue for the past year. I forget the number but they were in the red. So where do those profits show up? Please explain as you may know a Hell of a lot more about this stuff being closer to the action than I am. I’m basing it on numerous widely circulated articles that stated United was operating at a loss on top of the debt owed. This was one of the reasons Platini came down on us so hard and said the team was running itself in an unethical manner. He went as far as to call United cheaters. So please explain this one for me so that I can better understand it?
Ryan; People like myself are not basing Podolski’s worth on four games. And those were not average displays either. He is a very talented and flexible player who needs to play often to be effective. Bayern have done wrong by him and they have even admitted it. If you had watched all the Germany games that he plays in like I do (most of the time) and you had watched him play as a lone striker for FC Cologne, I’m thinking you may have had a different view. As you are condemning people for jumping on the Poldy bandwagon for four games played, yet you are quick to not rate him high based on only four games. What would you call that? Lets not forget he was also selected the young player of the tournament at the last World Cup where he scored 3 goals and was a real menace. Fair is fair and I just don’t see you being very fair when it comes to him. Fine if he is not your top pick or in your top ten for that matter, but don’t discount his talent and prospective value to a team like United. He would fit our style and our numerous formations like a glove. He has pace, dribbling skill, a lethal left foot (a cannon really) and is strong with his right. He can play as a lone striker , a winger (left or right) as an attacking midfielder or a left midfielder. All the things that Fergie gets Rooney to do with moderate success, Poldy does with better success. He has played the role of a LMFer in these EUROS and has 3 goals and an assist and has come close on several other great attempts. What more do you want from a player?
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RR, Isn’t World Player of the Year based on a specific year played? If so, it really doesn’t matter where he will be next season. He won the award for his 2007/08 campaign. An everyone knows he was Man Utd player. The problem with these awards are they are not given after the end of a season or at least immediately after the Euros or World Cup. If they were, there would be no doubt what team he was playing for when he won the award.
RR; Also, I too thought the motivation and moralistic hypocrisy in the the Daniel Taylor article was a bit too much but I have to admit I was shocked by the actions he claims Ronaldo committed on that very important day. This brings up another point regarding the Ronaldo/Fergie relationship. Why does Fergie support this lad so much through thick and thin at the expense of the other players and the harmony on the team? Ronaldo’s actions over the last two seasons have been terrible at times beginning with his antics at the last World Cup right up to now. But no matter what, Ronaldo can do no wrong in his eyes. Surely he must have noticed this arrogant selfish attitude take hold in the dressing room and at events. Why has he not reigned in the lad and given him a good talking to? Or maybe he has and this is the reason he wants to leave so badly. Why all of a sudden is he so careless in the things he says and he admits to not care if he ruffles Fergie’s feathers? Perhaps there was a bit of a falling out between the two due to his selfish antics and displays of me onlyism. That’s just a guess on my part but my problem here is that Fergie was quick to get rid of the great striker of our time in RVN all because he had a brush up with the same Ronaldo in a training session. Is it possible RVN was correct and that Ronaldo’s selfish play on the field was not being punished enough by Fergie? Has Fergie been so seduced by his show pony antics that in his eyes the lad could do no wrong? All I know is that Beckham, RVN, Stam, and even Keano were not given the benefit of the doubt or a little more slack by the Boss before he cut them adrift. This may actually explain why many footballing pundits refer to United as a one man team. Fergie has really built the team and it’s style around this one player and he now has a Hell of a job trying to repair the apparatus with CR7 wanting out. This may be blasphemy but I think Fergie brought a lot of this on himself and in the process, he betrayed and cut loose players who were devoted legends and loyal to the team. Sometimes we reap what we sow.
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