Football-Portugal-UK

Ronaldo traded for record-breaking 94 million euros

Article published on the 2009-06-11 Latest update 2009-06-11 12:51 TU

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo (L) is seen looking at manager Alex Ferguson at a press conference
(File photo: Reuters)

UK football club Manchester United agreed on Thursday to sell Portuguese football star Christiano Ronaldo to Spain's Real Madrid Club for a whopping 94 million euros, a world record. Manchester United posted the deal on its website, noting that the deal should be concluded by the end of the month.

"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 the player," the website reported.

Ronaldo, who is currently on vacation in Los Angeles, had been wanting to join Real for the past 18 months. United boss Alex Ferguson had convinced Ronaldo to stay on for another year.

His hankering for the Iberian team did not endear him to United players or fans, even though he had scored some 118 goals for the club.

Ferguson originally said he "wouldn't sell that mob [Real] a virus," but was worn down by Ronaldo's requests.

Spain had been gunning for the Portuguese midfielder for some time. Club President Florentino Perez said earier this week that he would do "everything possible" to secure the football star.

The lucrative deal will fill United's coffers, which have been depleted by an 822 million euro debt.