Have Your Say: United Strike Back over Ronaldo

By: Ian Rose | June 9th, 2008

The player has had his say. He wants to go to his childhood dream club. The buyer has made their interest clear. They want him, and will pay the GDP of several small African countries to have him.

It was time for a clear statement from the current club, and that statement has come. Manchester United today filed an official complaint with FIFA over Real Madrid’s pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo, and with Ronaldo running his mouth to every tabloid in sight, it’s about time.

We may be completely obsessed with Euro 2008, but it’s still our duty to keep up with the he-said / they-said on the future of CR7. The question I have for you Offside readers is this: Has Real done anything wrong? And if so, what should FIFA do about it?

As for me, I think there is plenty of blame to spread around. Ronaldo has a big mouth, and really should have kept it shut until after the Euros. Real has never had any shame about chasing players, and with United’s history of selling to the Spanish giants, they can’t be blamed for trying. But there are rules about these things, and they have been basically ignored. Real have been a bit aggressive in going after a player whose current club is obviously not in the mood to sell. If Real can afford £80 million for Ronaldo’s transfer, I’d say they can afford the pittance of a FIFA fine. And I’d say they deserve it.

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Category: English Premier League, Spain La Liga, World Football

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Nick

The modern game has evolved, yet it seems many players take the support they receive from the fans and clubs that develop them for granted. It’s not just Cristiano Ronaldo that lacks loyalty and commitment (Ian Wright correctly stated as a footballer he has bundles of class, but as a man he is still found wanting).

This is an interesting post:
http://footballssoul.wordpress...
Elisa

I feel that both the club and the player should be fined.
Ben

Real Madrid probably won't be punished for anything they've done. This is because instead of contacting the player or his agent (which is against the rules) they've used the media and "leaked" numbers to accomplish the same thing. In reality, the two acts are no different, they're still trying to tempt him with ridiculous weekly wages while he's still under contract, but by doing it in a newspaper they seem to think they can get away with it. Who knows, maybe they can? Part of me says they're guilty of nothing more than sleazy business practices, but the other part hopes FIFA wants to end this crap and does something about it.

Ronaldo's only going to leave if United let him. He's going to have to be a professional and honor his contract. He's probably killed any real hope of a transfer by opening his mouth.
Adam

Look, an ABU bandwagoner.
marcus R4E

To man u whinging about madrid talking to ronaldo..SO WHAT!!! man u dont poach players, they never poached pique and and never stopped petrucci from signing a professnioal contract with roma even tho hes 17!
Man u deserve this
The EPL deserve this
this is there punishment for taking loyalty out of the game and filling it with mercenaries.... AKA RONALDO
ALSO MAN U FANS R DISGUSTING BANDWAGONERS (in AUS) anyway who will u support next????
JT

Has he said that he wants to leave? I haven't really seen anything convincing yet, like a transfer request, or at least something a little more concrete from the player or his reps.

Of course Madrid are in the wrong, but it seems to be pretty commonplace behavior in the world of football. If they're so sure he wants to come to them, they should make an unbelievable offer for him, and deal from there. They may want to get Ronaldo pissed at United for not letting him leave easily (why should they?), but Sir Alex and Co will be a real tough crew to negotiate with give Madrid's shenanigans.

Look, everyone knows Marca is Madrid's mouthpiece, and its a great deal for the club because they can always maintain plausible deniability and say its all the doing of the press. Nothing will ever be proven.