Ronaldo: Brawn and booty

London, June 11: Cristiano Ronaldo has again left the football world open-mouthed with his footwork.

The news snap for one of soccer’s most dramatic stories in years came at 9.39am in London: “Manchester United have confirmed they have accepted a world-record, unconditional offer of £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.”

That the Spanish club was wooing Ronaldo, chosen the world’s best player by Fifa last year, was known. But not too many people expected Real to break the bank again for the Portuguese winger just two days after signing Brazilian midfielder Kaka at a then-record £56 million.

For £80million (Rs 620 crore), you can buy 1.31 million Apple iPhones, make nearly four trips to the International Space Station and back, or own four-fifths of Newcastle United, the relegated Premier League club for which Michael Owen plays.

Or you can buy 85 Kevin Pietersens, the Indian Premier League’s most expensive player — which means one Ronaldo is worth almost a whole IPL of eight teams each with 11 Pietersens.

The question being asked today was whether any sportsman, however gifted, was really worth that much. European football boss Michel Platini called the price “excessive” at a time of recession, and Real president Florentino Perez’s move was pilloried in Spain, where the 18.1 per cent unemployment rate is the continent’s highest.

For United, selling the 24-year-old genius is a bit like India selling Sachin Tendulkar in his prime. Perhaps Ronaldo’s petulance and pouting, and repeated threats of leaving, finally persuaded Alex Ferguson it was better to let him go. Some United fans were downcast but others said it was “good riddance” since the speculation about Ronaldo’s future was unsettling the other players.

There was speculation that United, whose parent company Red Football’s debts are in the region of £650 million, had agreed to take the transfer proceeds in instalments and that Ronaldo would receive £60m over the five years of his contract (at Rs 93 crore a year).

A United statement suggested the move came “at the request of Cristiano -– who has again expressed his desire to leave….”

The deal is yet to be inked, but a Real statement said: “The club hope to reach an agreement with the player in the next few days.” Perez’s Real is now the author of the top four costliest signings in history, including those of Frenchman Zinedine Zidane for £45.6m (2001) and Portuguese Luis Figo for £37m (2000).

Tommy Docherty, a former United manager, said the Ronaldo deal had more to do with business than with sport. “I think it’s fantastic business. It was £40 million, it was £50 million, it was 60, now it’s 80. And I sit at home giggling when managers say, ‘he is not available at any price’, and a fortnight later he is gone. Every player has a price.”

A top agent, Barry Silkman, believes the world’s top three footballers cannot be priced the way others can. “A club will pay £15-16million for what I’d call a good Premier League player but for one of the top three, there is no value,” Silkman said.

“If you said to someone they had to pay 100 quid to watch a player, who would you watch? You would watch a team that included Ronaldo, Messi or Kaka. These guys are in a different league. They don’t just win games on their own, they excite the crowd, people from all over the world want to see them.”