Ronaldo or Alonso matter less than Real image
G Balague
Florentino Pérez, restored to the presidency of Real Madrid, moves around the offices of the Bernabéu like a fish in water, even though he has been back in the job for less than a week.
He talks calmly to some of those he used to meet regularly during his previous era at the club, from 2000 to 2006. He jumps to another office to discuss the organisation of an imminent event (the presentation of Kaká, maybe?) Finally, he leaves all that behind to enter his office, where he will spend an hour chatting with me.
Away from secretaries and helpers, Pérez sits and relaxes, ready to combat the idea that Real are public enemy No 1 for trying to take Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.
“From what I hear, there is an agreement between the player and his club,” Pérez says. He is talking about an £80 million buyout clause that was supposedly included by Ronaldo in his last contract with United. “If one day there is a chance of him playing for Real Madrid, that would be an honour for us. But if I had to choose between the friendship with Manchester United and the signing of Ronaldo, I would choose the friendship. Plus, I have never said that Cristiano will arrive in June. That is an arrogant and false statement.”
In time, though, Pérez feels more confident to talk about targets and the renaissance of the galáctico model at the club. “Cristiano is, of course, a player we are interested in, he is one of the best in the world,” Pérez says. What he does not add is that Real plan to spend €300 million (about £262 million) and will try to do in one summer what normally would take three years, by getting two superstars and assembling a star-studded squad.
“It is a model we have always used at Madrid, not only in the so-called galáctico era,” Perez says. “We have always had Di Stéfanos [the world`s top players], Amancios [the best Spanish players] and Raúls [quality players from the lower ranks]. And it makes sense financially — [Zinedine] Zidane was a cheap signing as his arrival allowed new commercial deals and new arrivals. It is a model that feeds itself. We don’t have rich people to put money into the club.”
Once the deal to bring Kaká from AC Milan has been finalised — and nobody in Madrid doubts it is done, despite the last-minute interest from Chelsea — Real will turn to their next targets. Pérez will study carefully the strategy to get Ronaldo “without making enemies” and next week Valencia will receive an offer for David Villa (Chelsea have already offered €45 million, although the player would prefer to go to Madrid).
There is still Franck Ribéry and Xabi Alonso to fight for, too, but Pérez hopes to win friends by the way he conducts transfer negotiations. “I shall be talking with [Sir Alex] Ferguson [the United manager] and David Gill [the chief executive] to build bridges,” he says. “If we sign Kaká from Milan, I can assure you that we will still have a very good relationship with [Adriano] Galliani [the vice-president].
“Of course, we want the best players to join us here — but only if their club wants to sell them. Ask Gill, David Dein [the former Arsenal vice-chairman], Roman Abramovich [the Chelsea owner] . . . I have an excellent relationship with them and it is essential to me that continues. I represent a club where elegance and gentlemanliness has been always our flag.
“Ronaldo or whoever will come if their club want to sell. To force through a situation is very bad for our image. If someone has acted in that way at some point, I offer my apologies and can assure you that it will not happen again.”
His own image has been tarnished from the moment he answered “Never, never, never” to the question: “Would you sign David Beckham?” But he offers an explanation: “When I said the words, ‘Never, never, never,’ neither I, nor anyone with me, even thought of, let alone had spoken to, Beckham or anyone to do with him. It was at the end of the season that we saw that Manchester United were entertaining the idea of selling him.”
So, if he was a betting man, would he say Ronaldo will never play for Real Madrid? “I am not a betting man, but whatever happens I will still leave friends in Manchester.”
---------------
) and i can assure you we have no interest until last Thursday (i don't know if something happened in the last 24 hours ) and Moratti & Laporta are in advanced position regarding the transfer of Ibra to Barca
with silva as the supersub, kinda like what the 6th man to a basketball team is...he's so versatile.
