Blatter backing for record-breaking Ronaldo deal
In contrast to comments from UEFA supremo Michel Platini, who described the world-record £80 million (€94m) fee for the Manchester United winger and Madrid’s recent £56m (€65m) swoop for Kaka as “excessive”, Blatter feels it is good for the game.
Speaking ahead of the Confederations Cup in South Africa, Blatter said: “It means that our product is still a good product. If this is the game of the people, they need stars. OK, it is a lot of money, but he is performing. We are in a very sensitive market nowadays because there is an economic crisis. In football, we are still in a good market.”
If Ronaldo does follow Kaka in moving to the Spanish capital, then it means Madrid will have made the four most expensive signings in history, having also splashed out huge money on Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo during Florentino Perez’s previous term as president from 2000-06.
Madrid also lavished big fees on the likes of Brazilian forward Ronaldo and David Beckham as part of the club’s famous ‘galacticos’ policy in Perez’s first tenure, and Blatter believes the current situation is not too different to how it was a decade ago.
“Almost 10 years ago, Luis Figo went from Barcelona to Real Madrid for £37m,” he said. “So what is £80million now? That means there is still demand to have a star.”
Meanwhile, new Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini believes it is only natural that players like Ronaldo and Kaka want to be part of the “great team” being constructed by the Spanish giants.
Aside from those two players, other big names are also believed to be in the pipeline for Madrid, most notably Valencia striker David Villa who Spanish media claim could complete his move to the Bernabeu next week.
It has been a breathless few weeks since Perez returned to the presidency, and an impressed Pellegrini, who was installed as the replacement for Juande Ramos just 24 hours after Perez took power, said: “This is a very important time for Real Madrid. Florentino Perez has taken charge of the club and, in Jorge Valdano, has been joined by someone who has links to all areas of the football hierarchy. They are making a great team and it’s natural that players want to join Real Madrid.”
However, Pellegrini does not feel it is set in stone how many players Madrid will bring in this summer.
“There is not a fixed number (of reinforcements). We are trying to build a squad, not just a team. We know that Real Madrid will play in three tournaments next year and we don’t want to leave any of them to one side.”
When asked about the possibility of Madrid being saddled with big debts, Perez said: “On the contrary, we believe we can improve our accounts by aiming for three goals – increasing ticket sales, increasing bank loans and increasing the club’s economic value.”
He added: “Real Madrid takes about €400 million a year, the fruit of three sources of income – a third from ticket sales, a third from television rights and a third from merchandising.”
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