Manchester United accept £80m bid for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid

11 June 2009 09:43
A statement on United's official website said: "At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player. "Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice." Real president Florentino Perez launched his second spell at the Bernabeu by breaking the world transfer record with the £56m purchase of Kaka from AC Milan earlier this week and, despite the huge outlay on the Brazilian forward, an even costlier move for Ronaldo remained on the agenda. Speaking to Spanish public radio station RNE, Perez said: "I have not yet spoken to them (United) but I will do it in the coming days." Further comments by Real general director Jorge Valdano only highlighted their desire to succeed in their battle to sign Ronaldo this summer. Valdano said: "I can only talk about players who are on their way here, not about those we are in negotiations over. "He is a great professional, he dedicates a very great deal of time to his work. He is a great footballer and a very good professional." Having withdrawn from Portugal's squad for Wednesday's friendly against Estonia in Tallinn with a suspected hernia injury, Ronaldo is now on holiday in Los Angeles, but there have been reports in Spain that Real have sent a medical team to California to assess his fitness.

Source: Telegraph