Manchester United have accepted a potential world record £80m bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.
“United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player,” read a statement from the Old Trafford club.
It added the decision came at the 24-year-old winger’s request after he “again expressed his desire to leave”.
United said the offer was unconditional and want the matter to be concluded by 30 June, while Madrid hope to agree personal terms “in the next few days”.
Manchester United have accepted an £80million bid from Real Madrid for Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has long been a target for the Spanish giants, whose president Florentino Perez vowed earlier this week to do “everything possible” to take the 24-year-old to the Bernabeu.
A statement on www.manutd.com this morning, under the headline ‘Reds accept £80m Ronaldo bid’, read: “Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.”
Stapleton pointed out that United had sold star players in the past and had not suffered when David Beckham and Jaap Stam left the club, or when Eric Cantona retired.
Stapleton told Sky Sports News: “I feel that money will be used very, very quickly.
Barcelona finance director Xavier Sala i Martin is bewildered as to how Real Madrid are funding their summer spending spree.
With a reported transfer budget of 300million euros at their disposal, Madrid president Florentino Perez has this week set about creating a second ‘galacticos’ era.
The Spanish giants had a world-record bid of £80million for Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo accepted by Manchester United on Thursday, hot on the heels of Monday’s 68million euros acquisition of Brazil playmaker Kaka from AC Milan.
And Sala i Martin, whose team finished nine points clear of Madrid at the Primera Division summit last month, is puzzled by how the purchases are being financed.
He told Radio Station RAC1: “I don’t know where the 300million euros that Florentino Perez expects to invest on signings are coming from.
“He says he will recover that money by selling shirts but, in order to do that, he will have to sell 30million shirts. That is impossible.”
Sala i Martin is stunned Madrid are able to spend so much money in such a difficult economic climate.
He added: “I guess someone will have to give him that money and it would be good for him to explain where it will come from.
“How can it be that a football team is loaned so much money, considering the current financial crisis in the country and the policy of restricting credits that banks are currently following?
“I can assure you that we will not pay 65million euros for a player.
“For that amount we would buy the whole Barcelona team that won the Champions League in Rome.”
Cristiano Ronaldo had admitted Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona was one of the biggest disappointments of his career.
Cristiano Ronaldo felt Manchester United’s tactics were ‘not good’ during the club’s 2-0 defeat by Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
United set out at the Stadio Olimpico with the same formation which overcame Arsenal in the semi-finals, with Ryan Giggs replacing the suspended Darren Fletcher.
However, after a positive start, the Premier League champions failed to recover from conceding a 10th minute Samuel Eto’o goal and were outplayed for the remainder of the game.
Sir Alex Ferguson altered his tactics at half-time by bringing on Carlos Tevez for Anderson, but the change failed to improve United’s performance.
Ronaldo started the match up front before moving out to the wing and the Portuguese ace felt ‘everything went wrong’.
“I cannot explain,” he told RTP. “We, the players, were not well, the tactics were not good… everything went wrong.
“We have to give credit to Barcelona, but they were a bit lucky to be here because Chelsea did not deserve to lose and no-one has mentioned that.
“I have to congratulate Barcelona, they were better, but football is just like this: only the winners get talked about.”
The former Sporting Lisbon man also refused to comment on his future amid fresh reports linking Real Madrid with a renewed interest in his services.
He added: “My future now is the national squad, so that we can win, so that we can be in a good position in our qualifying group.
“About clubs, I do not want to talk about that, I want to rest, go on holiday, I am very tired, I have played a lot of games, a lot of pressure.
“The future, we will see.”
Cristiano Ronaldo’s driving force as he prepares for Manchester United’s Champions League final against Barcelona tonight is the prospect of making history.
United will become the first club to retain the trophy in the 17-year lifetime of the competition if they defeat the Spanish champions in the Stadio Olimpico.
And Ronaldo, who admits his affection for Spanish football, claims that means much more to him than winning the world footballer of the year trophy last season when he beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi into second place.
Ronaldo said: “I like the Spanish league. I feel well in England in the Premier League, it is the strongest league. Barcelona have a great team which deserves respect but I believe we are better than them and we will show it.
“I respect Barcelona profoundly. Messi is playing marvellously well. I want to be sincere. I have to play well tomorrow for the team and the supporters. I look forward to it and I think it will be really special.
“I don’t care about the Ballon D’or. What I want more is to win the Champions League. That’s it.
“I just want to be the first team in history to win it twice.”
Ronaldo has dismissed any fears about playing in white, like the Real Madrid side who were annihilated 6-2 by Barcelona recently.
He also insisted he is happy to carry the burden of the spotlight which constantly surrounds him.
“It’s normal that people speak about me but I am 100% focused on this game,” he said.
“I try to help my team 100%, score a goal and win the game. That’s it.”
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also gave an insight into what makes Ronaldo United’s most potent threat and why he constantly conjures up feats such as the 41-yard free-kick screamer which broke Arsenal hearts in the semi-final second leg at the Emirates.
Ferguson said: “There’s no mystery. He’s always out there after the team training has finished, practising his shots. The great players don’t rely on their natural ability, they practice to make sure they have that something extra.
“In the semi-final against Arsenal I could tell he was going to hit it, from the body shape, even though it was so far out.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has provided Manchester United with a late injury scare ahead of the UEFA Champions League final after requiring treatment in training.
The Portuguese winger needed strapping on his ankle during Tuesday evening’s training session at the Stadio Olimpico.
Ronaldo, who missed the start of the season after undergoing ankle surgery, is expected to be fit for Wednesday’s showpiece in Rome.
The 24-year-old is likely to start up front against Barcelona, with Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-sung tipped to provide support from wide.
Nemanja Vidic was also photographed during the session holding his hamstring, but United have confirmed the Serbian is fit.
Vidic’s central defensive partner Rio Ferdinand has also declared himself fit to start the final after a recent absence due to a calf injury.
Barcelona had injury concerns of their own during their final training session after midfielder Sergi Busquets required treatment.
Busquets is expected to start in a holding midfield role, with Barcelona’s defensive issues likely to lead to Yaya Toure dropping into the back-line.
Andres Iniesta and Thierry Henry did train on Tuesday evening after recent injury lay-offs and the duo should start for Pep Guardiola’s side.
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