After months of claims, counter-claims, arguments, complaints, backchanneling and negotiations, Cristiano Ronaldo became a Real Madrid player on July 1, 2009.
Ronaldo was just 24 years old when he broke the world record for the biggest ever transfer fee. Real shelled out £80million to land the Portuguese forward to complete a long and arduous pursuit of a player they had flirted with for years.
United accepted the bid reluctantly. Sir Alex Ferguson knew how good Ronaldo was, having overseen his record of 118 goals in 292 appearances in the previous six years. The United boss was unhappy with everything around the Ronaldo sale. He described the way the transfer market had escalated over the summer as "stupid" and reserved plenty of specific criticism for Real Madrid.
Real’s long-running pursuit of Ronaldo had ultimately been successful, but it did not win them any friends in Manchester. Ferguson was particularly angry with Real president Ramon Calderon, who had led the club’s efforts to sign Ronaldo.
During the year leading up to Ronaldo’s move to Real, Ferguson frequently used his platform to bemoan the Spanish giants’ methods. "You get used to this, Madrid's behaviour on these things,” he said on May 24, 2008, when rumours were circulating about Real’s interest in Ronaldo.
“I read about Calderon making the great statement that slavery was abolished many, many years ago. Well, did they tell Franco that? Jesus Christ! Eh, give me a break ... Great clubs, clubs with great morals like Barcelona, have far better morals than Real Madrid will ever have.”
United lodged an official complaint with FIFA a month later, accusing Real of deliberately attempting to unsettle their star player. In the summer of 2008, Ferguson was absolutely steadfast in his refusal to budge to Real’s shock tactics.
"I've had a couple of meetings with the Glazers,” he said in June 2008. “Their attitude is, 'To hell with them'. They'd sit a player in the stand, I'm telling you, absolutely no doubt about it, just to prove a point. Not to give in to these people. They've got balls, I can tell you. I've been delighted with them in that respect."
That did not put off Real, who kept up the pressure on United to sell and continued in their all-out charm offensive to Ronaldo. By December 2008 things had reached a breaking point, with Ferguson famously declaring: "You don't think we'd get into a contract with that mob, do you? Jesus Christ. I wouldn't sell them a virus.”
By this point Ferguson knew he couldn’t keep Ronaldo. But he believed he could influence where the Portuguese winger ended up. His attitude was simple: anywhere but Real Madrid. According to Guillem Balague’s book, ‘Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography’, Ferguson wrote a letter to Calderon, asking him to stop making overtures for Ronaldo, while he also reached out to Barcelona to gauge their interest.
Balague writes: “For weeks he'd pursued a Machiavellian approach of sorts, but seeing that he couldn't persuade Cristiano to stay he made contact with Barcelona to encourage them to bid. Anyone but Real Madrid. But Cristiano had made up his mind about where he wanted to go."
With Ronaldo set on Real, Ferguson instead got in contact with his agent, Jorge Mendes, and made an agreement: if he behaved himself during the 2008/09 season, he’d get his transfer to Real. In the end, that’s exactly how things played out. United accepted Real’s £80m offer on June 11 and the transfer officially went through on July 1.
Former Real chief Calderon gave his side of the story to Sky Sports : “I don't know why but Ferguson is a bit obsessed with Real Madrid,” he said. “He doesn't like us very much. He said ‘Cristiano, no. He is going to leave but not to Real Madrid.’
“They offered the player to Barcelona, among other clubs, and they were prepared to pay what (United) were asking. The important thing is Cristiano said ‘No, Real Madrid or nothing’ and that was perfect. I'm very proud he came... he is an example to everyone, for the kids, his team-mates, how he is playing.”
In his parting statement, Ferguson put his animosity to Real to one side and paid tribute to Ronaldo. "Cristiano has been a marvellous player for Manchester United," he said. "His six years at Old Trafford have seen him develop into the best footballer in the world. His contribution has been a major factor in the club's success in that time and his talent, his ability to entertain and his infectious personality have enthralled fans the world over."
