Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s best football player is finally off to Real Madrid for a staggering world record fee of 80 million pounds. This deal dwarfs what Madrid just paid for Kaka and proves the club are willing to invest whatever it takes to recapture their glory years and challenge Barcelona for honors again.
As a fan of the Premier League I’m gutted. I never thought I would feel so gutted about a player leaving Manchester United as I don’t even support the buggers! I just like to watch the best players play in the best league in the world. Now the two best players in the world (Ronaldo and Messi) are playing in La Liga.
Does this mean the power is shifting away from the Premier League? Is this a sign and should the Premier League be worried? Forget about the diving and the moaning for just a second and think of Manchester United’s Saturday afternoon clashes with Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, but there’s no Ronaldo. It feels as bad as the day Henry left Arsenal for Barcelona. And let’s face it, Arsenal have still not recovered or won anything since he left. United have seen great players come and go over the years, but this one might be tough to replace.
Everyone is crying about how much Real Madrid have paid for Ronaldo and there’s no doubt those tears are somewhat justified. However, players like Ronaldo, Kaka, Messi and even Beckham are more than just players. They are a brand in themselves. A corporation. A business. And if a business performs well year after year, the value goes up and sometimes another company will come in and make an offer to buy that business for way more than what it was worth to begin with. Was MySpace really worth over $500? Was Facebook worth almost a billion dollars? Probably not, but huge corporations came in and paid the money because in the long-term, the payback from the initial investment is worth so much greater. When you negotiate your contract with a potential employer, you try to get the best deal for you right? Expense account, bonuses, travel, company car and other incentives. It’s all relative as far as I’m concerned.
Ronaldo will payback Madrid in potentially his first season. He will sell shirts, season tickets and merchandise beyond Real Madrid’s dreams. When Beckham went to Real Madrid, their shirt sales went through the roof. Wherever Beckham has gone shirt sales have gone through the roof. And the profile and publicity these top tier players garner for their team is priceless. Yes the wages are crazy. Yes they get paid ridiculous amounts of money and yes it’s tough to justify in today’s economy. But they too have worked hard for their worth. To buy the best you have to be willing to pay top dollar. And if Ronaldo is the world’s best, then surely he is worth the money Real Madrid are investing right?
Everyone is acting as though teams pay over 80 million pounds for a player everyday. But they don’t. Ronaldo is a special player. These special players don’t come around that often and when they do, teams are willing to pay whatever it takes for their services. I say good luck to the boy. Why not? He’s earned it. He’s worked hard. He gives everything on the pitch. Yes he bitches and moans and cries. But his talent makes you forget about that stuff. And like him or not, you cannot deny his talent. He came from a very humble upbringing in Portugal and his family had nothing. His God given talent has blessed him with riches beyond his dreams. The winker wins again and who wouldn’t want to be in his position…
Gareth Barry to Manchester City! Please! This summer could see some amazing squad swapping. It might get really ugly people. Brace yourselves to be annoyed, frustrated and flabbergasted by it all. And even if your team are not in the thick of it all, it will still affect them somehow. Whether it’s getting beat by the teams that have spent big or losing a player because he was offered crazy wages from another club, in the end it all trickles down or up!
Chelski won the F.A. Cup. It’s a painful result for every neutral fan as the world wanted to see Everton win! And after Louis Saha scored the fastest goal in the history of an F.A. Cup Final, it seemed Everton were ready to derail Chelsea from their mission to win their first major trophy since the departure of Jose Mourinho. But it wasn’t to be for the Toffees. 
In 1999 Manchester United capped an incredible season by beating Bayern Munich in the dying seconds of the Champions League Final to secure an amazing treble. Fast forward 10 years and it’s now Barcelona celebrating a treble of trophies as they captured the biggest prize of all in Rome last night. Congratulations on winning the Champions League. Barcelona were simply beautiful.
Newcastle United have been relegated. After almost 20 years in the top flight of British football, the once impressive and glamorous Toon Army are toast. Their fall from grace was heard across the football universe today and Chairman Mike Ashley, his executive team and even the players can point the finger at themselves for this disaster. 
The two sexiest teams in Europe have a hot date in Rome on Wednesday. But who will come out on top? Manchester United? Barcelona? Let’s hope it’s us fans that are the happiest at the end of the game, for this really is an exciting Champions League final and we hope it lives up to every expectation.
Congratulations Manchester United. They’ve done this 18 times now and they’re not getting bored. Sir Alex Ferguson is amazing. The greatest manager in football history. Nobody can match what he’s done. It’s a shame the F.A. couldn’t convince him to be England manager. He’d probably have won them the World Cup by now.
Surprise. An award was presented today and it didn’t go to a Manchester United player!
A red card must go to the entire Arsenal team. Why? Dumped out of the Champions League by Manchester United. Humiliated by Chelsea at home in the Premier League on Saturday. Gutless. Spineless. Spiritless. What’s to like about this Arsenal team? Who are they? What do they stand for? They have no identify. No leadership. Where are the men? Houston…we have a major @#$%^&* problem.
Call in the emergency services. Arsenal need saving. Their season has been as disastrous as a nuclear explosion. They went up in smoke against Manchester United last night. The Champions League was the trophy they really wanted. Didn’t look that way on the pitch. It was men versus school boys in both legs against United. Ronaldo, Rooney and co. tore the Arsenal children apart. Arsenal fans are hurting across the universe this morning.