RON WILL GO.. FOR REAL
REAL MADRID have been warned Cristiano Ronaldo’s quit threat should not be taken lightly – by the man who took him to the Bernabeu. And Manchester United’s hopes of edging out Paris Saint-Germain and re-signing the striker were lifted when former Real president Ramon Calderon talked up Ronaldo’s love for his former club. Ronaldo made an “irreversible”
decision to leave Spain after being accused of a £13million tax fraud and asked his agent Jorge Mendes to secure a return to Old Trafford.
Calderon said: “He’s very strong-minded and when he decides something he goes through with it. The point now is whether he really has decided to leave.
“He likes Manchester United – that is something we all know. One year before he was going to come, he told me he was really grateful to Manchester United, the fans, the people there, his team-mates – everything in the city.”
Real boss Zinedine Zidane (below) has pleaded with the 32-year-old to stay. Calderon believes the Portugal captain will be irreplaceable and that the current Real president should not sell him at any price.
He said: “It would be a big mistake if Florentino Perez doesn’t try to keep him with us. He’s broken all the records at the club, he has three Champions Leagues in four years and La Liga this year. He’s been a very important player.
“It took me a long time and a big effort to sign him when Manchester United didn’t want to let him go. We have to keep him. “I think he will stay. I hope so. It would be very bad business to sell him.
“It doesn’t matter what we can get for him. There is no replacement for him. I don’t see anybody in world football who can substitute for him. I hope he can stay with us until he retires.”
La Liga chief Javier Tebas is worried about the impact of losing four-times Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo will have on the Spanish top flight.
He said: “It’s not possible to quantify, but would be very important. Even more so with the international growth of the league.
“It would be a great loss, an irreparable loss.”