by Luca Caioli
‘Cristiano is an unbelievable footballer. We paid what we did because it’s worth it – we’ll make it all back, with interest. It’s an investment in a club which is in the business of putting on a great performance,’ explains Real Madrid general manager Jorge Valdano. ‘Having Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaká brings a global market to our doorstep. And in a time of crisis, that guarantees us economic potential that we wouldn’t otherwise have.’
Everyone is in agreement: having CR7 and the other millionaire footballers is a way of convincing companies that investing in Real Madrid will remain profitable. Real will use them to help renegotiate higher advertising contracts with Coca-Cola, Audi, Adidas, Telefónica and the Mahou-San Miguel Group, as well as selling VIP blocks at the Bernabéu. The club’s directors are convinced that the 94 million Euros spent on Ronaldo, funded largely by the banks (Caja Madrid and Banco Santander, which retain audiovisual contracts and rights as collateral), is a worthwhile investment which will lead to a sold out Bernabéu, summer tours, TV rights (700 million Euros over the next five years), merchandising and increased sponsorship (currently only online betting company Bwin has signed up to spend 30 million Euros over the next three years to put its logo on the white shirt).
It’s an investment which they plan to recoup over the next six years to the tune of fifteen million Euros a year. And that’s even with a worst-case-scenario calculation of just two per cent growth in each area of activity. The addition of David Beckham into Florentino’s fold in 2003 saw a 137 per cent growth in merchandising. If things continue in this vein, the club could increase its annual income from 400 to 500 million Euros.
It is worth remembering that according to research by Deloitte, Real Madrid has the highest income of any club in the world, with a turnover of 366 million Euros in 2008. And let’s not forget that during his first presidential stint (2000-2006), Florentino Pérez managed to increase gross income from 100 to 300 million Euros thanks to stellar signings like Zidane, Figo, Beckham, Owen and the original Ronaldo. Pérez the Powerful has returned for a second term as a hero and national saviour, and he’s ready to reapply his winning philosophy. He’s convinced that there is no better course of action during a time of financial crisis than signing stars like Cristiano who will attract a following.
And let’s not forget that in signing Ronaldo, the current president has succeeded where his predecessor and enemy Ramón Calderón did not, despite promising Ronaldo as part of a failed re-election bid. The single cash payment of £80 million is nothing more than the fulfilment of one of the clauses of a contract signed by the two clubs in 2008, when they agreed that United were obliged to sell Cristiano after 1 July 2009 if Real’s offer was still on the table. It was a way to free the Portuguese player from his contract and enable him to sign a new one. From the very moment Florentino declared Cristiano a priority, he reaped the rewards from the previous directorate’s efforts and closed the deal on Operation CR7.
It’s a soap opera that had begun a number of years earlier, gaining traction in the summer of 2006. By the start of 2007 the situation had reached boiling point. Let’s review what happened during that critical time.
4 January 2007: Real want to secure Cristiano during the January transfer window. A statement is made to the Spanish press: Ramón Calderón, sports director Peđa Mijatović and coach Fabio Capello are united in their efforts to sign the new Ronaldo. The Man United bosses do not want to lose their star player, who will turn 22 in February and is valued at 70 million Euros. But Real are not put off by the Red Devils’ position – they make it known that they’re willing to shell out 40 million.
27 January 2007: Alex Ferguson responds: ‘We sell players we want to sell and there is absolutely no way Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving.’
29 January 2007: Ronaldo weighs in: ‘I know that Real Madrid are interested but I can’t comment on the issue. I have talked it over with Alex Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz and they have forbidden me from talking to Real Madrid.’
16 February 2007: Ferguson assures everyone that he is confident United will retain Ronaldo.
19 February 2007: Inter president Massimo Moratti declares his interest in the player.
8 March 2007: Ronaldo speaks out: ‘Everyone knows I love Spain. I would love to play there someday. But right now I’m happy at Man United. If I stay another two, three, four, five years, I’ll be happy. It’s a great club.’
13 April 2007: CR7 signs a new contract with Manchester United for a further five seasons.
11 January 2008: United chief executive David Gill declares: ‘There’s no chance of us selling him. Absolutely no way, whatever the money.’
22 January 2008: Ronaldo’s mother Dolores says she would ‘die happy’ if her son were to sign for Real Madrid. She is photographed wearing the Whites’ team shirt.
23 January 208: Peđa Mijatović says he fears it is ‘an impossible deal’.
2 April 2008: Bernd Schuster, Real’s new coach, says: ‘It’s best to stay realistic in times like these. Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the best player in the world. But I can’t see Manchester United selling him.’
15 April 2008: ‘We want Cristiano to become an iconic part of Madrid,’ says Mijatović.
16 May 2008: Ronaldo reiterates: ‘I have said thousands of times that it’s my dream to play in Spain. Sometimes dreams don’t come true, but I’ll keep dreaming. I am happy at Man United but no one knows what the future holds.’
23 May 2008: Ferguson lambasts what he sees as Real Madrid’s lack of ethic and compares them to Franco’s dictatorship.
25 May 2008: Spanish daily sports newspaper Marca reveals Real Madrid’s offer of 9.5 million Euros a year to Cristiano and 80 million Euros to Man United.
27 May 2008: United bosses threaten to lodge a complaint with FIFA over Real Madrid’s ‘completely unacceptable’ behaviour towards Ronaldo.
9 June 2008: United reports Real Madrid to FIFA.
19 June 2008: Real Madrid representatives say they hope Ronaldo will make the first move towards allowing them to commence negotiations with Man United.
19 June 2008: after Portugal’s defeat by Germany in UEFA Euro 2008, Ronaldo admits to the press that ‘there is a strong possibility [of signing for Real]; the train [to Madrid] only comes once in a lifetime and everyone, including those at Man United, knows what I want and what my family and I have been dreaming about.’
20 June 2008: United reaffirm their position that Ronaldo is not for sale. ‘Ronaldo has continually been linked with a move to Spanish side Real Madrid this summer,’ reads the latest statement. ‘The club has moved to reiterate its stance on the matter: United are not listening to offers.’
4 July 2008: Real Madrid’s latest figure of 85 million Euros is their ‘final offer’.
5 July 2008: according to the Spanish press, United demand 100 million Euros to let Cristiano go.
9 July 2008: FIFA president Sepp Blatter confirms that United should relinquish Ronaldo and compares the signing of players to ‘slavery’. Cristiano will later borrow this term.
17 July 2008: Santander approves a credit of more than 100 million Euros so that Real can sign Ronaldo. It is only a matter of days.
18 July 2008: Ferguson reassures everyone that Ronaldo will be staying at United.
5 August 2008: Real Madrid sign Rafael van der Vaart, suggesting that they have backed down in their attempt to sign Ronaldo.
6 August 2008: ‘I can confirm that I will be playing at Manchester United next season,’ Ronaldo tells Portuguese newspaper Público. ‘Alex Ferguson has heard my views and I have heard his. Staying in England is the best thing for me. And before anyone says that I’ll be unhappy if I stay, I want to clarify something: whoever says or writes that is wrong. I will play with all my heart. I will give 100 per cent to Manchester United, I will honour the red shirt the way I always have. It’s true that I’ve created some of the hype by publicly expressing my desire to go to Madrid. And for a while I was hoping that United would give me th
e green light to go – I’d be lying to you and myself if I said otherwise. So I’ve been inadvertently responsible for the conflict between the two clubs.’
7 August 2008: Marca reveals the key to CR7’s future at Madrid: ‘An agreement has been reached between the player and the English club to go to Madrid on 1 July 2009.’
18 December 2008: Real director Pedro Trapote says that the club has already signed Ronaldo but cannot officially announce it for contractual reasons.
2 January 2009: ‘I want to stay here. I feel at home here. I feel very happy here.’ A positive start to the new year for Cristiano. But there is no shortage of criticism in the media. ‘What people are saying now [about a deal being struck with Madrid] is not true. Whoever says that is a liar. There’s always speculation, not just about me but about the future of players all around the world.’
16 January 2009: Ramón Calderón resigns after three days of corruption accusations on the front pages of the Spanish press.
17 February 2009: acting president Vicente Boluda reiterates the club’s position that Ronaldo will become a Real Madrid player. He informs the presidential candidates that the deal is practically done and that he will finish up the negotiations.
18 April 2009: Ronaldo expresses his desire to win trophies with Man United.
27 May 2009: Man United lose to Barcelona in the Champions League final.
29 May 2009: in his first interview as newly elected club president, Florentino Pérez says it would be great if Cristiano came to Real. He describes him as the ideal signing.
11 June 2009: Man United confirm that they have accepted an offer of 94 million Euros (£80 million) for Ronaldo from Real Madrid.
26 June 2009: ‘Real Madrid Football Club and Manchester United have signed a definitive agreement for the transfer of the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo on 1 July,’ reads the statement on the Whites’ website. ‘The player will be signed to Real Madrid for the next six seasons and will be presented at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium on 6 July.’
Chapter 18
Hysteria at the Bernabéu
‘Is there a match tonight?’
‘A very good evening and welcome to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Thank you for joining us! Those of you who are here tonight represent the very best of the Real spirit – the passion of the fans, shareholders and followers from all over the world. You are an essential part of what continues to make this club so respected and admired.’
Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez is presiding as grand master of ceremonies. He climbs the steps to the temporary stage at the south end of the stadium, accompanied by ‘the blond arrow’ Alfredo Di Stéfano, the club’s honorary president. The crowd cheers as they come onto the stage. It is 9pm. Pérez waves to the crowd and motions to Alfredo to take a seat. In his regulation jacket and blue tie, he positions himself behind the lectern and microphones to get proceedings underway for the third presentation since his second term in office began.
Tonight is all about the ‘Florenteam’, the group of players who have re-conquered the world, stealing the crown from their eternal rivals Barcelona. They are a machine, ready to put on spectacular performances, win titles and make money. At least, that’s what everyone hopes. And expectations are high with regard to the newcomer being presented tonight: Cristiano Ronaldo, the most expensive player in footballing history.
It is 6 July 2009, a beautiful warm summer’s evening, as it can be in Madrid at this time of year. Many of the fans queued all day outside the stadium to be here tonight. The gates opened at 7pm and closed an hour later – and five thousand people missed out on getting a seat inside the stadium. They will watch CR7’s presentation on a screen which has been set up at the last minute in tower B. Inside the ground, only one block undergoing some maintenance work is empty. The rest is packed with 80,000 people, significantly outdoing the the 40,000 who went to the San Siro to see Ronaldinho’s arrival at AC Milan from Barça, or the 50,000 who invaded the Bernabéu on 30 June to welcome the Brazilian Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite – Kaká to his friends – who bade farewell to Milan’s red and black shirt to join Real for the modest sum of 65 million Euros. And Ronaldo’s fans even outnumber the previous record set on 5 July 1984: the 65,000 Napoli fans who waited for hours in the blazing sun outside the San Paolo stadium to witness the arrival of Diego Armando Maradona.
This is certainly a first in footballing history. The following day he will be front page news everywhere from Portugal (‘Madrid at his feet … Insanity for Ronaldo at the Bernabéu … Cristiano was presented amidst the delirium of 80,000 fans’ Record) to England (‘Cristiano was presented as Real Madrid’s new player amidst hysteria at the Bernabéu’ Daily Telegraph), from France (‘Eighty thousand for C. Ronaldo … He will wear the number “9” shirt at his new club’ L’Équipe) to Italy (‘Ronaldo beats Kaká with 80,000 fans at the Bernabéu’ La Gazzetta dello Sport), and even Brazil (‘Portuguese phenomenon … Cristiano Ronaldo’s presentation at Real Madrid breaks the record established by Kaká’ Globoesporte).
Florentino knows this is something special and he makes the most of it: ‘What is happening here tonight sets a new precedent. The incredible turnout at our stadium is a testament to the Real Madrid spirit. Thank you for coming to witness this unique moment, the culmination of all our hopes and dreams. Thank you to everyone from Portugal who has joined us here to welcome one of your own into our home. It is an honour for us that you are with us tonight. It is also an honour for us to welcome one of the best players of all time – here with us tonight is a player who is a symbol of exceptional Portuguese and European football. Please welcome the legendary Eusébio.’
The 1965 Ballon d’Or winner, known as the Black Panther, comes onto the stage in a beige suit. He waves to the crowd, who are chanting his name, then hugs Alfredo and Florentino. ‘Thank you very much,’ he says into the microphone.
More applause, and then Florentino continues. ‘Many of you are very young, but you should know that thanks to the incredible relationships that football can create, we have here on stage two lifelong friends, who are also two of the best players the sport has ever seen: Eusébio and our honorary president Alfredo Di Stéfano.
‘There are few players in the world who catch the eye of the legends who have gone before them. Tonight, together with these two stars, we are going to welcome one such player. Tonight, Real Madrid is delighted to introduce someone who is capable of igniting the hopes and dreams of millions of fans around the world. The moment has arrived, please welcome to his new home: Cristiano Ronaldo!’
The £80 million superstar emerges from the dressing room tunnel wearing the white shirt with Ronaldo and the number 9 on the back. The legendary club shirt number became available after the departure of Javier Saviola to Benfica. It was worn by Di Stéfano during his time at Madrid from 1953 to 1964, as well as Carlos Santillana, the Mexican Hugo Sánchez, the Chilean Iván Zmorano, Fernando Morientes and the Brazilian Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima. Inheriting the tradition from a distinguished ancestry of strikers, Cristiano cannot stop smiling as he makes his way down the green walkway, applauding the crowds who are screaming his name.
It is now 9.17pm, but CR7’s D-Day began as early as 10am in Lisbon when a private plane arrived to take him and twelve of his family and friends to Madrid. They landed at the Torrejón de Ardoz base twenty minutes late, at 12.50pm. Tanned after three months’ holiday, hair trimmed short with the usual spikes on top, diamond stud in his ear, wearing jeans, a red leather jacket and a white T-shirt sporting the logo of his Nike sponsors, Cristiano disembarks from the plane and already has to stop and sign his first autograph and pose for his first picture on Spanish soil.
Two security guards accompany him to the official car, a white Audi with tinted windows. He sits between Jorge Mendes, his friend and manager, who has represented him for more than eight years, and his friend and brother-in-law Zé. The official Real Madrid Television camera stays focused on him every second of the way. He
seems calm, smiling and joking about Jorge’s Spanish, and he even has a little snooze as the car heads up the motorway. From a distance, they can see the four concrete and glass towers where the old Sports City of Real Madrid Pavilion used to stand.
First stop is the Sanitas de la Moraleja clinic for a medical. It’s just a formality, as Ronaldo has already had a thorough examination in Portugal ten days earlier. The clinic has been besieged by a wave of cameras, microphones and fans. An eighteen-year-old girl is frantically waving a placard which reads ‘I love you Cristiano’.
The security guards make a passage for him to get through, before handing him over to clinic staff and the Real Madrid medics. Cristiano pauses in front of the entrance for a family photo. Inside, staff and patients are waiting on the stairs to welcome him, forming what looks like a human amphitheatre. Everyone wants to catch a glimpse of Florentino’s star signing.
The cameras follow him everywhere, while he has blood and urine tests, an ECG, an echocardiogram, an MRI, a chest x-ray and examinations of his feet and joints. Lying on a bed with blue electrodes attached to his body, he gives a thumbs-up, smiles, and poses for photos with his muscular brown chest on display. He is wearing a white chain with a crucifix around his neck, a diamond ring on his left hand, and an enormous watch on his wrist. He passes his half-hour of tests with flying colours.
‘The player is in perfectly good health,’ confirms Real Madrid’s chief of medical staff, Dr Carlos Díez. ‘He has exceptional heart and lung capacity. We have re-evaluated everything we covered in Portugal and also done some more specific tests. Now we will be able to tailor his future check-ups to help improve his performance.’ After getting the all-clear, it’s time to go, but not before signing more autographs, posing for more photos, and a momentary mishap concerning a group of boys who have broken through the security cordon and surrounded Cristiano’s car. He waves at them through the windows.
Next stop is the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. On the way, the car stops at a red light, and two girls appear out of nowhere. ‘You’re the greatest!’ they yell, trying to take a picture of him. Cristiano rolls down the window. ‘Take it, take the photo,’ he tells them. Overjoyed, they take a quick snap and shake the hand of their idol. ‘We’ll see you at the presentation,’ they promise. Others try their luck while the car is still moving, in the middle of the Paseo de la Castellana, the avenue which runs along the west side of the stadium. ‘Can we take a picture?’ they shout. He opens the window again and waves with a ‘Ciao’.