Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has disclosed that Madrid signed a pre-agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo before his record-breaking switch from Manchester United in 2009. According to the agreement between the player and the club, the Portuguese superstar had to pay the Whites €30 million if he refused to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 for a then-record €94 million fee. The Portugal international already had a Ballon d’Or to his name and was widely hailed as one of the two best players of his era, alongside Lionel Messi. Manchester United were not willing to let their best player leave, but ultimately heeded the player’s wishes.
Revealing the nitty-gritty of one of the most important transfers in football history, Calderon, who oversaw the majority of the operation, said (via El Confidencial):
“We had been talking to Manchester United for two years and there was no way they would sell him. I had a good relationship with David Gill, the general manager, Jorge Mendes, and the boy told us that they wanted to come and we kept insisting until in December 2008 we managed to reach an agreement with United. Cristiano had renewed, but he put a clause to leave the club for 80 million pounds. They were about 94 million euros.”
Calderon added:
“Manchester told us that if we wanted it, we had to make a single payment. We were prepared to do it because we had the money and an agreement with Cristiano to guarantee it. If he backed down, he had to pay us 30 million euros, and if we backed down, we would pay him the 30 million. It was the way to respect what was agreed. Manchester did not want to sell him and in the end decided the will of the player. We had everything done so that the agreement would not be breached. That is why what has happened with Mbappé surprises me.”
Cristiano Ronaldo will go down as a bargain in Real Madrid’s history
Real Madrid paid Manchester United a whopping €94 million for Ronaldo’s services, making him the most expensive player in history. However, given the way he performed for Los Blancos over the next nine years, it would not be wrong to call him a bargain buy.
Ronaldo brought his unmatched winning mentality to the Santiago Bernabeu, helping them hold their ground against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. He scored 17 goals in the 2013-14 Champions League campaign, leading the way as Real Madrid finally won their 10th UCL title (La Decima).
He was by far their best performer as they won three consecutive Champions League trophies between 2016 and 2018. The 37-year-old also won two La Liga titles and one Copa del Rey, amongst a plethora of other honors during his time in Madrid.
The club’s record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo scored a whopping 451 goals for Real Madrid in 438 appearances before leaving for Juventus in 2018.
