Man United forced Real Madrid to pay £80m upfront for Cristiano Ronaldo in blockbuster 2009 deal

Manchester United forced Real Madrid to pay £80m upfront to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, says former chief executive David Gill.

The Portuguese superstar had joined manchester united in the summer of 2003 as a fresh-faced teenager few had heard of, but who left with a very different reputation.

In six years at Old Trafford, ronaldo He helped the club win five Premier League titles, two League Cups, one FA Cup, one Champions League and one Club World Cup.

On a personal level, he scored 118 goals and provided 59 assists, as well as winning the first of his five Ballon d'Ors while he was with them.

Gill, who was chief executive of the Red Devils for ten years, knew the club had someone special in Ronaldo and revealed how the club worked with the star's agent, Jorge Mendes, to receive a then world record fee of £80 million when the time came to move on.

speaking in Fernando River's VIBE with Five, Gill said: “We had never heard of him because we played against Sporting and he wowed everyone in that friendly and we went looking for him.

“That first game against Bolton (in August 2003) with the dreadlocks and the teeth, you could see it from the beginning and speaking to his agent Jorge Mendes, who has looked after him for so many years, he was very, very motivated. to be one of the best and to be up there and it was very well directed.

“For us to have him was brilliant. What he did in the first season: he took us to a cup final (FA Cup) and we met Jorge Mendes and gave him another contract.

“I think Jorge was a very good agent for him. He managed it correctly and we probably always felt that at some point he would move to Madrid, but we tried to hold on as long as possible.

“But his whole attitude and what he did for the club was phenomenal.”

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He was asked how real Madrid When the move happened, Gill said: “I remember in Moscow after the Champions League final (in 2008) I got questions outside the hotel because there were a lot of rumors about Ronaldo.

“Carlos (Queiroz), obviously being with Portugal, thought he would go at some point and it was a shock when he indicated he would really like to go that summer, so we said, 'we can't.' I have that'.

“In a nutshell, we agreed that he would sign a new contract with us, but there would be an exit clause for the following year if they reached a figure: £80m up front, into our bank account, which was a record at the time. and that was that.

“They had a certain period at the end of next season where they could exercise that option and after we lost to Barcelona (in the 2009 Champions League final). I spoke with Jorge and Ronaldo's legal advisors and it was clear that they were going to exercise it.

“He was a brilliant player and we didn't want to lose him, but you have to understand that if we hadn't done something like that, he would have been angry and it would have been difficult, but no one can argue with that.” what he did on the field during that last season.”