Ronaldo bids farewell to Madrid
Celebrity News
First David Beckham, and now Ronaldo appears ready to jump ship.
Real Madrid agreed yesterday to sell Brazilian striker to AC Millan for around 7.5 million euros. The 30 years old joined Milan until 2008.
Immediately after terminating his contract with the Spanish club, Ronaldo stopped at the Santiago Bernabeu to say his gooodbyes.
“It is sad to leave here. I am sorry because I felt at home. But life goes on and I now face a new challenge,” he told a cluster of microphones.
“I never had problem with the coach but he did not want me.”
“It would surely be better for the club and for him if he were transferred if there are offers. If not, he will stay with us,” Madrid president Ramon Calderon told Onda Radio on Monday.
“Over the past three months I did not talk to journalists and they took advantage of my silence. I never said Capello was a devil and that Real Madrid was hell.”
The 30-year-old Brazil striker will join Milan until 2008 — the same length as the remainder of his contract at Madrid.
My heart’s breaking but life goes on,” Ronaldo told reporters in Madrid. “I’m a great Madrid fan. I’m not so sure about the coach.”
Ronaldo’s departure marks the end of Madrid’s project of signing the world’s best players — who earned the nickname “Galacticos.”
Calderon said Ronaldo’s circumstances couldn’t be compared to those of David Beckham. The former England captain has been informed he won’t play again for Madrid after announcing last Thursday he would join the Los Angeles Galaxy on a five-year contract at the end of the season.
“Ronaldo’s situation is different to that of David Beckham’s as he (Ronaldo) still has another year left after this one,” Calderon said.
Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad is also reportedly interested in signing Ronaldo to team him up with Luis Figo, with whom he has played both at Madrid and FC Barcelona. However, the 30-year-old Brazilian is said to favor a move to one of Europe’s leading clubs.
Ronaldo helped Madrid win the Spanish league in his first season, but since then the club has won nothing in its longest streak without silverware since the early 1950s.
However, Ronaldo notched up 82 goals in 120 Spanish league matches in his first four seasons. In the European Champions League, he scored 13 times in 32 games, reports AP.
This season has easily been the Brazilian’s worst. He didn’t play his first match until October following an operation on his left knee.
Since then, Ronaldo has scored one league goal in seven league appearances made mostly as a substitute, and missed another month’s action with a left knee injury. In the Champions League he has made three appearances as a substitute but hasn’t scored.