real madrid wants ronaldo

The Portuguese player made his desire to play in Spain public recently and the Spanish media believe that he would leave Old Trafford if a tempting offer is made.

AS’ chief Madrid correspondent, Tomás Roncero, has said that president Ramón Calderón will off-load player’s at the end of the season in order to fund a move.

Although Ronaldo has no official buy-out clause in his contract, it is thought that a bid of around €70m should be enough to see Manchester United seriously consider the offer.

With the former Sporting winger being only 22, he is seen as good value for that amount as it would still be €5m less than Zinedine Zidane cost in 2001.

The real objective for Madrid is to persuade Ronaldo himself to want to move as they believe that his desire would be the key to leaving Old Trafford.

His recent statement that playing in la Primera is a dream helps to give the story some credibility, but next summer may well be far too soon for him to consider a transfer.

Sir Alex Ferguson looked to put an end to the speculation that was building earlier this year by successfully tying the player down to a new contract, whic runs until 2012.

To raise funds, Roberto Soldado will be sold for around €12m, while Javier Saviola, Royston Drenthe and Arjen Robben could all be offered to other clubs.

Royston and Robben could stay if they prove themselves, but the latter has already been labelled a flop by the Madrid hierarchy, according to Roncero.

Goal.com

ronaldo better than kaka -Queiroz

Cristiano Ronaldo is a better player than Kaka and will soon become the world’s greatest sportsman, according to Manchester United assistant boss Carlos Queiroz.

Scolari support for Ronaldo

 

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has called into question the decision to hand the Fifa World Player of the Year award to Kaka instead of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The star-studded gala in Zurich saw Milan’s Brazilian forward Kaka claim the prize, with Barcelona’s Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi second and Ronaldo in third.

All three had fantastic campaigns with their respective clubs and countries, but Scolari felt Ronaldo’s efforts overshadowed his rivals.

”I am in no doubt that Cristiano was the best candidate and should have occupied the number one position,” said Scolari.

”I would have voted for him but as I am the coach of Portugal that is not possible.

”Anyway, he should still be proud to have finished third and have confidence that next year he can be the winner.”

Fergie plays down Tevez-Ronaldo rift after Ronaldo denies Argentinian hat-trick chance

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted it would have been ‘great’ if Carlos Tevez had scored a hat-trick against Derby. United won a penalty after Tevez had scored a brace but the team’s regular penalty-taker Cristiano Ronaldo refused the Argentinian’s request and grabbed the opportunity to score the 90th-minute spot kick.

CR picture gallery against derby

CR penalty video against derby

Manu -derby 4-1

Manu vs. Derby

 

Evergreen winger Ryan Giggs clocked up a century of league goals for Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson’s men overcame an early struggle to record  victory over bottom club Derby County.

Carlos Tevez netted a double to ease United home and could have had a hat-trick if Ronaldo had let him take the spot-kick himself after going down under the challenge of Tyrone Mears.

But the scoreline was incredibly harsh on Derby, who remain marooned at the bottom but at least had the satisfaction of scoring their first away goal of the campaign 14 minutes from time through Steve Howard

Derby ace Giles Barnes was especially impressive and had one of the two shots which tested Edwin van der Sar during the opening period.

James McEveley had the other and had either found the net, United might well have been in trouble such was the disjointed nature of their play.

powerful shot

With half-time approaching, United increased the pace notably. Predictably, it took an injection of brilliance from a previously quiet Ronaldo to break the Rams’ resistance in the 40th minute.

Picking up a loose ball on the left edge of the Derby area, Ronaldo darted into the box, then drove a powerful shot at goal which, on a sodden surface, keeper Bywater was unable to hold.

There have been many more memorable strikes among Giggs’ previous 99 and a number of more important ones. But few will have been greeted with such an audible sigh of relief.

Wayne Rooney should have doubled United’s lead on their next attack when he collected Giggs’ lofted pass and sent Bywater to the ground with some neat footwork.

For some reason though, Rooney took aim before he had taken Bywater completely out of the equation and in chipping his shot over the prone keeper, sent it bouncing onto a post.

bottom corner

Rooney’s miss did not prove costly at all given Tevez was blasting a minute before half-time home after Ronaldo’s delicate free-kick had caused mayhem in the Derby area.

The 2-0 interval scoreline was harsh on the visitors, who had been fully deserving of a stalemate until United’s late offensive.

They continued to impress after the re-start but such is the lopsided nature of their fight for survival, the scoreline only got worse. Giggs might have had another but drove Wes Brown’s far-post cross against the post.

Brown supplied the pass for Tevez that led to number three on the hour mark, the South American mercilessly punishing Dean Leacock’s failure to close him down by driving a shot into the bottom corner.

If nothing else, Jewell must take heart from the way his team still refused to buckle and Howard’s effort in the 76th minute was the very least they deserved as consolation. Ronaldo completed the scoring to make it 4-1 with his last-minute penalty.

player of the year

By: fredCr7

Manu vs. Fulham night

 

United come in off the back of a last-gasp Champions League win over Sporting last week having lost their last Premier League match against Bolton, while Lawrie Sanchez’s outfit drew their last league outing with Blackburn.

The encounter promises to produce goals if previous form is anything to go on.  There have been an astonishing 20 goals in the last four encounters between these sides, with Cristiano Ronaldo netting five times in his last four starts against The Cottagers.

Old Trafford has proven to be an unhappy hunting ground for visiting strikers this season, with United only having conceded once in their last seven league games on home soil.

Fulham are likely to have a fit-again Wayne Rooney to contend with as the England striker is set for a return from a three-and-a-half week injury lay-off, and he is set to partner Carlos Tevez up front, thus denying former Fulham striker Louis Saha an opportunity to start against his former club.

The Frenchman has scored five times in this fixture; twice for Fulham and three times for United.

Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves, Edwin van der Sar and Wes Brown could all be set for returns to the starting line up after being benched for the Sporting game, while Sanchez has a lengthy missing list.

Until Sunday, Fulham had dropped 17 points from winning positions this season, more than any other team in the league.  However, that accolade has been taken off them by Tottenham.

Kaka player of the year

 

Milan playmaker Kaka has beaten off competition from the world’s best footballers to be officially named the 2007 Ballon d’Or winner.

The Brazilian wizard was named the European Footballer of the Year on Sunday, beating off stiff competition from Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who came in second, and Barcelona ace Lionel Messi who came third.

The 25-year-old succeeds Real Madrid defender and Italy’s World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro.

Kaka’s victory sees the award return to Brazilian hands after Ronaldinho’s collection of the award two years ago.

The Brazil international played a key role in helping the Italian side to the Champions League title last year, and has been voted the winner by a panel of 96 journalists from around the world after being picked from the shortlist of 50 players.

“It has been a sensational year in which I also won the Champions League,” said the talented player upon receiving the prestigious award.

“I thank God for being here and lifting up this award. I must say that this award is the conclusion of a really sensational year.

“I thank my wife, my parents. I also thank Milan, the coach, my team-mates. It’s beautiful being part of such a brilliant side and you can’t win it without them.

“It’s the top prize around and the only way to win something like this is to play for a team like AC Milan. It’s great to be part of a team that wins.”