Ronaldo Makes Real Madrid Debut

Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for Real Madrid on Monday night in Ireland, in a pre-season friendly with Shamrock Rovers. The game, played in the newly built Tallaght stadium in Dublin, finished 1-0 to Madrid, but Ronaldo was rather inefficient in his 45 minutes of action. He did have 2 opportunities to score from free kicks, but his first went over the bar while his second hit the wall. It was pretty obvious that the Irish defenders were marking Ronaldo very closely, and what was deemed a 'friendly' quicly turned into a game of hard tackles. Ronaldo wore the new Black/Voltage Yellow Nike Superfly cleats.

Cristiano Ronaldo Presented to the Real Madrid Faithful!

It is official; Cristiano Ronlado is a Real Madrid player. At a packed Santiago Bernebeu, Ronaldo was presented to the Madrid faithful, holding the title as the most expensive player in football. Ronlado strutted out in his new Real Madrid kit, and as we can exclusively revel, he was sporting the number '9' jersey. The Madrid supporters went wild for their new Portugese playmaker, and even more so after Ronaldo started a chant for Real Madrid. Another point to note was the fact Ronaldo was wearing the new Black /Voltage Yellow Nike Marcurial Vapor Superfly, giving an idea of how he will look on the first day of the season. The Superfly was pulled from the market back in late March, but after some added development, Nike are again about to unleash the long awaited cleat and they are currently available to order.

You can also now Purchase Ronaldo's No. 9 jersey.

Here are some pictures from the presentation:

Cristiano Ronaldo Getting More Expensive Daily!

The economy is benefiting Manchester United in the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid! Who would have thought that accepting an offer for Ronaldo would actually become more beneficial by the day? The day the pound hit its highest level against the euro for six months, Manchester United finally said "Yes" to Real's offer. Amazingly, until the paperwork is signed and sealed every rise will cost the Spanish club more money.

Let's look at the numbers: 1 pound reached 1.17 euros on Thursday, in January it was 1.07. Experts have calculated that for every cent the euro falls, Real Madrid will owe an extra one million euros. Are you kidding me!? For every small change on the stock market, Madrid will owe an extra one million. The teams have currently agreed on £80million, this number would have equaled €83 million in January. This was when the pound was much weaker, but at today’s exchange rate, the same sterling amount will cost Real Madrid €93 million.

Mark O’Sullivan, who works as director of dealing at Currencies Direct in the UK, stated, “While the Ronaldo deal is good news for Real Madrid supporters, the accountants at the Bernabeu stadium will be sweating until the paperwork is all signed and sealed. Ronaldo’s price in January 09 was 83 million euros, today it is 93 million euros and rising and this will have a tremendous impact on Real Madrid’s plans to amortise this investment."

It is amazing how we don't think of these things when we hear about transfers. “This deal highlights the fact that the final price of a player like Ronaldo is very much decided by the currency markets and not always in the board rooms of football clubs - though who would put it past a canny Scot like Sir Alex Ferguson to take all this into consideration too!” Mr. O’Sullivan added. Add to this the fact that a lot of teams pay in installments with interest and the fee increases even more! There is no doubt that Manchester United fans will be sad to see Ronaldo leave and will hope that he somehow stays at the club. Technically, they should be hoping the transfer drags on another few weeks so that the transfer fee increases even more!

Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid

It is official and is sure to happen really soon! Manchester United have accepted an £80 million offer from Real Madrid for World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid are on a spending spree right now after just spending £60 million on Brazilian star Kaka, showing their intent to be the top team in Europe next season. Ronaldo will now have contract discussions with Madrid before the signing is finalized. But in this situation it is pretty much a done deal, as Ronaldo has reiterated his desire to move to the Bernabeu. Expect to see the deal signed in the next 24 hours.

So, what does this mean for Manchester United? Sir Alex Ferguson has a very solid squad at his disposal. A move for Franck Ribery is not out of the question, but I do not expect Ferguson to have a summer spending spree. What has brought so much success to United in the past few years is the consistency in the team. Unlike Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, United have limited their big signings to 1 or 2 players per year. Ronaldo was not happy at United, and keeping him could only lead to bad things. A negative influence on the locker room is something Ferguson strives to avoid. Look at the sales of Beckham and Jaap Stam as evidence, both players were causing dissension to Ferguson. United will need to look for a decent rid midfielder to try fill Ronaldo's boots. Nani has never looked the part, and young Serbian star Zoran Tosic does not yet have enough experience. Darren Fletcher might be the only suitable right midfielder in the squad right now, but Ferguson has been deploying him in a more central role with much success. Ribery would be the ideal signing, being an established and pretty polished winger who has proven himself in the recent past. Watch this space for more information.

Barcelona Edge Towards Primera Liga

Fresh off their Champions League heroics versus Chelsea midweek, Barcelona played Villareal knowing that a win would secure the Primera Liga title on Sunday. But the champagne had to put on ice when Joseba Llorente scored an equalizer 2 minutes into stoppage time, giving Barca a taste of theirown medicine. It looked like Barcelona would coast to victory when they went in at half time with a 3-1 lead thanks to goals by Keita, Eto'o and Alves, before Matias Fernandez scored from the penalty spot on 78 minutes and Llorente scored his second of the game. And to compound frustration, for the second time in 5 days, Eric Adibal saw red, as he gave away the 78th minute penalty. Not a good personal week for the French left back! Barcelona will have an opportunity to seal the title next weekend at Real Mallorca.

This is of course if Real Madrid win their game on Saturday versus Villareal. But lets be honest, that doesn't look likely. If Real Madrid ail to win, the title belongs again to Barca without kicking a ball. And what has happened to Real Madrid?? After a 6-2 thrashing at home to Barcelona the previous week, they were battered 3-0 away to Valencia Saturday. If Madrid had managed to win both games, they would now be leading the Primera Liga. But instead a team worth over 200 million concedes 9 goals and pretty much hands the title to their rivals. As one of the richest teams in the world, they will be extremely frustrated that the could not challenge in the final weeks of the season, but it has been such a frustrting season for madrid, with many injuries and disapointments. Their ae sure to be huge changes their durg the summer, and as usual probably another coaching change, lets be honest it wouldn't be Real Madrid without a coach being fired!

As a side note, Barcelona will be looking for their first piece of silverware this season, when they play Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey final this Wednesday. It could be the first of three trophies for the Catalan giants.

Also See:
Barcelona Edge Towards Primera Liga
Nike Mercurial Vapor Berry Still Available

Real Madrid get Diarra and his Nike Air Legend II

Real Madrid bagged their first big signing of the Winter transfer window. Lassana Diarra made the transfer from Portsmouth to Real Madrid for $27 million. After a short stint at Pompey, Real Madrid made the move to sign the French midfielder from uner the nose of Man City, who were offering a much larger salary to Diarra. In his time at Portsmoutn, Diarra wore Nike Air Legend II FG - Soft Pearl/Dark Cinder/Metallic Gold, and it looks like thats what he will be wearing at the Bernabeau. The Air Legend II has a unique combination of conical/bladed studs for optimal traction and pressure dispersion. Made with Kangaroo leather for comfort and ball feel. Made with a molded sockliner with heel Zoom air unit for in-boot comfort. Priced a very generous $102.99, these cleats offer extra comfort at a good price.