Ronaldo - Real move is definitely off, but then probably on!?!

herbieflowers

Boggles wrote: »

When was the last time Ferguson let one of his top players go that he wasn't finished with?

Ronaldo has 3 years left in his contract, United don't have to force him to do anything.

I'm not saying he's definitely going, I just wouldn't share in others' optimism that he's a cert to stay.

"finshed with"? Could you be a bit more specific? As in, not having anything more to contribute to the team? Or past their best?

Boggles

herbieflowers wrote: »

"finshed with"? Could you be a bit more specific? As in, not having anything more to contribute to the team? Or past their best?

No players still at the top of their game, e.g. Beckham, RVN, Ince, etc.

herbieflowers

Boggles wrote: »

No players still at the top of their game, e.g. Beckham, RVN, Ince, etc.

Jaap Stam off the top of my head. As for RVN, he's scored 60 -odd in 90-odd for Madrid since he joined - not at the top of his game?

kida

herbieflowers wrote: »

Jaap Stam off the top of my head. As for RVN, he's scored 60 -odd in 90-odd for Madrid since he joined - not at the top of his game?

seem to remember Fergie said he regretted selling Stam

Boggles

herbieflowers wrote: »

Jaap Stam off the top of my head. As for RVN, he's scored 60 -odd in 90-odd for Madrid since he joined - not at the top of his game?

Thats what I ment, he has sold top players at the top of their game, point is he was finished with them, not the other way around.

He got rid of Stam for other reasons, which I'm not going to get into here.

Mitch Connor

Yeah - he has said Stam was a mistake, though at the time Stam was picking up a few too many injuries and looked a lot less assured at the back for United. Also, despite the denials, I can not imagine the book having gone down well.

As for RVN, he was finished at United when we sold. He went on to do very well for Madrid, but he was past it at United. The squad and strategy had moved on from what got the best out of him and so he did not fit into the way we played, as a first choice, anymore. He didn't fit into the fast moving, fluid attack we were trying to get going with Rooney and Ronaldo, Saha did though injuries did him. Ruud would have been fantastic, imo, to keep in the squad and offer us something different but he had no interest in being used in a squad rotation system so it was most definitely the right time to sell him.

mike65

Bump!

Looks like he will go so Utd can buy Ribery Or is the Real dream over?

LuckyLloyd

Threads merged:

Guardian are reporting huge possible deal with Ribery going to Man U, contingent on Ronaldo going to Madrid which appears to be near certain according to this article.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...stiano-ronaldo

Manchester United have made an offer of about €70m (£62.5m) for the Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribéry as they close in on a deal that would shatter the world transfer record.

Sources in Munich confirmed the bid has been received for the France international, who has made his desire to leave Germany known in the past few weeks. United scouts have repeatedly watched the 26-year-old in recent Bundesliga matches and sounded out his friends and entourage in Munich.

United's remarkable offer, which comfortably eclipses the record £44m paid by Real Madrid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001, is contingent on the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Madrid this summer but the approach to Bayern has been firm enough to suggest that the Portuguese's departure is a near certainty. Although Bayern are understood to have turned down United's offer, it is considered the first serious move in a negotiation that will eventually bring the winger to Old Trafford.

Ribéry, who earns €8m a year at the Allianz Arena, the equivalent of £134,000 a week, is set to replace Ronaldo as United's highest-paid player. Due to the unfavourable exchange rate and taxation levels in Britain, the Champions League holders, who take on Arsenal in the semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium tonight, will have to spend closer to £145,000 a week to match his net wages at Bayern. Money, however, is not the determining factor for Ribéry. The former Marseille player, who moved to Munich in 2007 for €25m plus add-ons and is contracted to Bayern until 2011, has repeatedly turned down offers to renegotiate a contract extension on improved terms.

Finishing only 16th in the running for the 2008 Ballon D'Or after a season in which he had inspired Bayern to a domestic double – "I am disappointed, I should have deserved better," he said – and his club's 5-1 aggregate defeat by Barcelona in the quarter-finals of this year's Champions League seem to have convinced him that a move to a bigger club has become necessary.

Bayern's general manager, Uli Hoeness, who has ruled out a sale of Ribéry throughout the season, softened his stance over the weekend. He confirmed Bayern were already eyeing up Werder Bremen's Brazilian midfielder Diego, 24, as a possible replacement "in case Ribéry were to go".

Manchester City, who have included the Frenchman on a short-list of transfer targets, have been hampered by their lack of Champions League football next season and are not seriously in the running.

Barcelona recently came close to an agreement with Ribéry but negotiations halted when news of their interest was leaked to the French press by sources close to the player last week. Although Barcelona have not officially pulled out, United are now best placed to entice Ribéry abroad. Relations between Bayern and United are cordial despite displeasure at Sir Alex Ferguson's aggressive pursuit of Owen Hargreaves in the summer of 2006. The English international moved to Old Trafford for £17m in July 2007.

It is understood that Bayern have rejected Ferguson's first offer but, with the Germans no longer insisting on a prohibitive €150m valuation – "We would perhaps let him go for that," Hoeness was quoted as saying in January – negotiations between the clubs are sufficiently advanced to suggest an agreement can be reached before the player goes on holiday in June.

In an interview with the French sports paper L'Equipe last week Ribéry indicated that he would leave Bayern if his team did not qualify for next season's Champions League: "In those circumstances it would indeed be very difficult to stay, that's obvious... That's why the club has to finish at least second." Bayern are currently second in the league, three points off the leaders VfL Wolfsburg. Only Germany's top two teams are guaranteed places in the Champions League.

Hmmm. I don't know what to think at this point. What a soap opera this has become!

Boggles

mike65 wrote: »

Bump!

Looks like he will go so Utd can buy Ribery Or is the Real dream over?

Doesn't look like that at all Michael.

That Guardian article cannot me read with a straight face.

I can understand why Non United fans would love to see Ronaldo leave the club, and in some ways I can understand why they fuel the weekly thread on it, but hope is a dangerous thing, and all the ABU's are serving is to tease themselves. It is as pointless as me starting a weekly Torres to Barcalona thread.

So you can knock yourselves out with these pointless discussions, at the end of the day yer only fooling yourselves.

m@cc@

No player is bigger than United and few have went onto better things after leaving. The whole fiasco over his future has been hanging over us for too long now, especially today with a CL semi-final to play. If we get 70m for him, I wouldn't fork out 62.5m for Ribery though.

LuckyLloyd

Boggles wrote: »

Doesn't look like that at all Michael.

That Guardian article cannot me read with a straight face.

I can understand why Non United fans would love to see Ronaldo leave the club, and in some ways I can understand why they fuel the weekly thread on it, but hope is a dangerous thing, and all the ABU's are serving is to tease themselves. It is as pointless as me starting a weekly Torres to Barcalona thread.

So you can knock yourselves out with these pointless discussions, at the end of the day yer only fooling yourselves.

Mr. Incognito

Reported in Times

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0505/1224245940904.html

Man U have made 70 million offer to Ribery to replace Ronaldo.

LuckyLloyd

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Reported in Times

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0505/1224245940904.html

Man U have made 70 million offer to Ribery to replace Ronaldo.

The Times takes a lot of Guardian Soccer content directly, without addition. This was one of the cost cutting measures they implemented in 2001 after they nearly went out of business.

herbieflowers

Boggles wrote: »

Thats what I ment, he has sold top players at the top of their game, point is he was finished with them, not the other way around.

He got rid of Stam for other reasons, which I'm not going to get into here.

Right, misunderstood your post.

slingerz

Hasnt Ribery been signed by Barcelona???

Smegball

Ribery is attainable this summer I reckon and for alot less than the 65m lol.
I would say if we offered them 25-30m with Nani we could maybe get him without selling Ronaldo, if this story leaks into worldwide papers it is surely just a tactic from Bayern to squeeze more pennies out of Ribery transfer.

United probably be selling Campbell and Manucho, maybe that be around 8-9m for them, and with the potential of Welbeck and Macheda maybe Fergie trusts these lads to back up Berb and Rooney and will spend the budgeted money of Tevez on this Ribery deal instead.

That would leave Ribery and Ronaldo on the wings (DROOL!) with Park and Tosic as backup.

Sounds excellent to me but probably a bit far fetched, but who knows:)

JPA

If Barca will pay the money Ribery will go there. I'm convinced of that.
There's no way Bayern expect 60 million + or would ask for that much.

BigCon

United distance themselves from Ribery rumours


Manchester United have distanced themselves from reports of a £62.5m bid for Bayern Munich’s France international Franck Ribery.

Reports this morning have claimed an approach has been received for Ribery from the Old Trafford outfit.

One of the world’s best players, Ribery looks certain to leave the Allianz Arena this summer after a disappointing campaign at Bayern which included a Champions League hammering by Barcelona and the dismissal of coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Ribery cannot see the situation improving and has indicated if Bayern fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League he would quit, and may leave anyway.

It was however thought the 26-year-old would be heading to Italy or Spain.

However, Alex Ferguson is an admirer of the tricky wide-man and knows he would be a perfect replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo should the world player of the year quit Old Trafford for Real Madrid this summer.

Given the consistent nature of Ferguson’s reaction to such a prospect, at one point last year famously declaring “I would not sell them (Madrid) a virus”, it is hardly a surprise that United’s response to the latest Ribery reports were to dismiss them as not worthy of comment.

With Ronaldo also apparently stating his “Real Madrid dream was dead” last weekend, Ribery’s chances of ending up at United appear to be remote.

anonymous_joe

Bayern are one of the world's most well run clubs financially.

If they fail to qualify for the Champions League then that's around €40 million that they won't earn. In such a situation, Ribery might want to move. However unlike United, Bayern Munich will not go bankrupt if they fail to qualify (lucky bástards :pac:) so the need to sell is reduced.

In all likelihood though, they'll sell Ribery for €40 million, and buy Diego from Werder for €25 or so and they'll have weakened a rival and kept the team as strong as it was and made €15 million or whatever into the bargain.

evad_lhorg

That is a stupid amount of money for Ribery and it would be a stupid amount to pay for Ronaldo too. Messi is probably the only player in the world who should go for that money. ****in Bayern trying to rip us off again if thats true.

adox

Am I the only one who isnt excited about Ribery at all?

LuckyLloyd

adox wrote: »

Am I the only one who isnt excited about Ribery at all?

Have you seen him play much (i.e. more than what you have seen in Champions League highlights)? If so, then yes - you might just be the only one who has a good idea of his capabilities and aren't excited about them.