Ronaldo’s on-off move to Real Madrid is finally on

REAL MADRID have beaten the transfer deadline and completed the signing of Brazil striker Ronaldo from Inter Milan.

After weeks of on-off negotiations, Real finally snared the two-time World Player of the Year after a last-ditch bid was accepted by the Serie A giants.

Ronaldo joined Inter five seasons ago from Barcelona for £18million but in recent seasons his time at the San Siro has been plagued by injuries.

Talks went on into the early hours of Sunday as Real president Florentino Perez and his Inter counterpart Massimo Moratti looked to broker a deal to suit both parties.

Ronaldo’s stock has hardly been higher after he finished the World Cup as top goalscorer with eight as Brazil carried off the title.

Inter are believed to have accepted a cash bid of £22million, plus a player who they can choose when the transfer market opens in January.

They will be allowed one of Flavio Conceicao, Pedro Munitis, Oscar Minambres and Raul Bravo.

The Italians moved early in the day to sign Hernan Crespo from Lazio as a direct replacement for Ronaldo, acquiring the Argentinean from the cash-strapped Rome club.

The deal had appeared to hinge of Real selling Fernando Morientes, but the Spanish international rejected a move to Tottenham Hotspur and then last night turned down Barcelona after Real and their fierce rivals agreed a fee.

Real were thought to need the £15million-plus which that deal would have brought in to finance the Ronaldo deal.

But now Real have Raul, Ronaldo and Morientes on board for their Primera Liga and European challenge.

Ronaldo made it clear earlier this month he was unhappy at Inter and demanded to be sold to Real.

The European champions, who stressed all summer long that they could not finance another world-record deal, baulked at Inter’s initial demands for 100million, (£63m).

Real have also had managed to ensure ample guarantees over a possible future injury to Ronaldo, who has spent much of the last three seasons on the treatment table with serious knee problems.

Real will receive compensation from Inter if the player suffers a relapse or injures his right knee again, meaning they can hardly lose out with their new investment.