Comment: Pay up or shut up
Stuart Mathieson
25/ 6/2008
REAL Madrid will never pay £80m for anybody.
So says Bernabeu president Ramon Calderon.
There you have it then. United need only demand anything above that figure for Cristiano Ronaldo and the whole boring saga will be over.
If only it were that easy.
Calderon, of course, could be playing a game of bluff with United's hierarchy.
The Spaniards could have the cash in the vault, sitting, waiting for the moment the Glazers, David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson fall for it.
As soon as United name the so-called out of range price Real may turn round and say, "Oh go on then."
After all, current world transfer record Zinedine Zidane, who moved from Juventus to Real in 2001 for £45.8m, reckons the fee wouldn't frighten Madrid.
Hardball
But while United will certainly play hardball as this story rumbles laboriously on, there is a certain inevitability that even if it continues until the very last day of the summer transfer window on August 31, the European and Premier League champions will have to do business.
Rotting in the United reserves is not going to happen.
So Dong Fangzhuo can probably forget dreams of feeding off the double footballer of the year's assists at Northwich.
United fans in favour of persisting with a `Not For Sale' stance are now finding themselves in the minority.
There has been a dramatic mood-swing among supporters since that memorable night in Moscow when the Reds lifted the European Cup. Having initially been right behind United's `dig in the heels' approach, the majority have come round to the idea that they can go forward without a player who would clearly prefer to be in the Plaza Mayor than Albert Square.
What the fans could not now stomach is seeing Real get their man on the cheap.
If Ronaldo is going to end up in all white, then make sure Ramon Calderon et al pay up big time.
One undeniable fact about this whole sorry saga is that United still hold all the aces.
Ronaldo still has four years to run on his contract, while Real are clearly desperate to do whatever it takes to get their man, so United can name their price.
Madrid have taken three United favourites since 2003 with £46m being transferred into the Old Trafford account in return for David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gabriel Heinze.
When the Beckham saga ended in the summer of 2003, many Reds felt the club had been fleeced getting just £25m for the 28-year-old England captain.
Real had bought a player at his peak who could bring millions of pounds in extra revenue.
It was a steal.
After van Nistelrooy's fall-out with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2006 the Spaniards nipped in and landed him for around £13m.
Van Nistelrooy was 29, had been United's top scorer in most of his five seasons at Old Trafford and in that time he became the club's number one hitman in Europe.
The Dutch striker has gone on to score 33 goals in 64 appearances in his two seasons in Madrid and helped them to two La Liga titles.
Superb value for money.
Gabriel Heinze had become an icon with United fans until he agitated for a move to Liverpool. The Argentinian finally had to settle for the Bernabeu.
United received only around a £1m profit on the £6.9m they had paid Paris St Germain for the defender in 2004.
A decent bargain.
This time round, if there is to be a deal, United cannot afford to allow the Spanish giants to rob them.
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