Transfer Talk: The Post-Ronaldo-pocalypse.

By: chris | June 12th, 2009

Everybody watch out, Fergie’s swingin’ a big stick. With close to €100m euros in his pocket from the impending CRTBA sale, plus whatever was in the coffers to begin with, Fergie will be going on a spending spree to try and replace Ronaldo. The targets who will replace Cristiano’s production on the pitch are Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema (also generating interest from Inter), Samuel Eto’o & Luis Antonio Valencia.

However, where he’ll find someone who will wear such ridiculous shorts is anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid will celebrate their CRTBA purchase by taking a deep breath then buying Maicon. And David Villa. And Xabi Alonso.

Does anyone get the feeling Perez learned absolutely nothing from the first go ’round? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…

And beginning The Great Real Madrid Clearout, Javier Saviola will leave Real’s bench for a spot on Liverpool’s bench, as he continues collecting a big paycheck but not quite deserving it.

But Yossi Benayoun says he won’t be going the other way. Nor will he go to Barca.

Err….yeah, we knew that.

Another of Carlo Ancelotti’s former stallions – this time Rino Gattuso, which means you aren’t allowed to call him ’stallion’ to his face – will be joining up with Carletto in London for some reunion cocktails and the occasional football game. At least according to his agent, who later denied he intimated Gattuso could rejoin Carletto. Even though he did.

Huge Campagnaro shot to stardom last year with Sampdoria. Now he’ll shoot down the coast to Napoli after snubbing everyone else who placed between 5th and 12th in Serie A.

Meanwhile Italian hero Fabio Grosso may finally return to Italy, in Juve’s jail-striped kits, in preparations for the World Cup. Or: Ligue 1 will be expelling all Italians to eliminate the possibilities of espionage in the run up to South Africa. We jest, but don’t for one second think Domenech wasn’t told to do so by one of the constellations.

Bayern, who may quietly turn over half their squad by the time summer comes to an end, have publicly declared their interest in Manuel Neuer. Uli Hoeness then continued his brilliant ploy at instilling confidence in current number 1’s Michael Rensing & Hans-Jorg Butt by saying, “If Schalke don’t want to negotiate, then we will just go into the new season with the goalkeepers we have”. He sounds positively thrilled.

Yokohama F-Marinos are looking to bring back Shunsuke Nakamura, who wants to return his family back home. And pull in 250m yen per year. It’s a wonder he has phoned Florentino Perez yet.