FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Are these the same quotes as the ones after the 06 world cup?

Perhaps he was humbled by his weak performance in the Euro and is going to just concentrate on improving for his present employer, not to mention show a little loyalty.

What an absolute mess - you can be sure though that this is all about money.

anyone think this may disrupt his performance's for ManU if he is not sold?

he's overrated

overrated ....?! You obviously arent a soccer fan ...

he IS overrated. As soon as he has to play against a good defense he is gone. Important game? He breaks down. And his goals? Easy to make lots of 'em if you kick every PK and freekick.

CR is overrated, and I am sick about this Real-ManU mess. ManU should keep him - and put him one the stands, as a sign that they don't let players walk all over them.

He is absolutely overrated.

I admire Manchester United's stance throughout on Ronaldo but I don't see how they can "refuse to sell him" if Ronaldo is adamant about leaving? Man U would only be doing a disservice to Ronaldo, themselves and the fans by virtually holding him "hostage" despite the fact he wants out. We all know or can assume that it's only a matter of time before Ronaldo joins Madrid. Why take the risk of him playing out his contract and then leaving Man U for free? I can only speak for myself, but I wouldn't want a player on my team who doesn't want to be here and in the back of his mind is thinking of someplace else. And if Ronaldo was determined to finish out his time at Man U he would have already said as much. His posturing back and forth only shows that he wants out, but at the same time doesn't want to be made out as the "bad guy" in all of this. So he's hoping Man U will give in and sell him before he has to say in no uncertain terms that he wants out now. And even if he stayed at Man U I doubt he would be treated with the same affection and admiration by the Manchester faithfull. I think the bridges between him and the fans have already been burned.

My take:

Calderon and Mijatovic are slowly rebuilding; with Raul, Guti, and Casillas all inked to longterm deals that no doubt include a nice front-office retirement position. That means, right now, they are looking to bring in superstars who are in their prime to build a high standard and continuity on the pitch.
Players like C.Ronaldo and Kaka fill that need now and in the future.

They have manipulated the press to their advantage to force the issue at ManU and for whatever reason, C.Ronaldo buys into the Real philosophy (which I think is little more than selling replica jersies too rich kids around the world who don't know soccer from ping-pong) and wants out of ManU. My guess is that for C. Ronaldo there are too many cooks spoiling what he thinks is his broth; Rooney, Tevez, Nani etc. etc. As much as I might think otherwise - no one at Madrid, right now, has international star quality like C.Ronaldo.

Where Real is mistaken is in underestimating their opponent, the Glazers. Coming form the American school of sports management - do not think for one minute that they will not expect C. Ronaldo to honor his contract on the field or sit his superstar tail in the seats and watch the game.

Looks and charm only get you so far and the more time C. Ronaldo is not on the field scoring and dazzling fans, the more his stock drops. The Glazers know this - and from their NFL experience they know it well. NFL players average careers are four years. If you spend two of those years holding out or riding the bench, that is money lost. Same rule applies here - although it is even more precarious for C. Ronaldo because there are other players in the starting XI, right now, who can do what he does.

So either Calderon and Co. need to come to the table with something that will make the Glazers' collective heads spin, or they need to forget about it.

I hate to say this, but he is overrated. Lots ot tricks, but he's not in the same class as Messi or Kaka. Not by a longshot. As said earlier, it's easy to score 41 goals when you take every penalty and freekick. A.C. Milan said it best last year when they said it's hard to stop Ronaldo when he's on a dead run, but if he has to stop, he's nothing. I wish United would just sell him, although the thought of him sitting in the stands is funny, it means no players will want to come to United.

the problem is, nobody honors contracts anymore. The players want lots of money and they are blackmailing the clubs. After they got their high paying contract they leave anyway. It is time that ManU shows that they don't let everybody walk over them. And putting a superstar on the stands is a pretty big signal to everybody else. ManU created CR, so why shouldn't they make a example out of him? If you have a contract, you have to fullfill it.

Well said no_trolling. the same thing happens in all sports.
You sign a contract, honor the damn thing.

he had a bad foot, and still had a decent euro, give the man a break.

he gets a break as soon as he stops acting like the **** he is - and as soon as the journos stop overrating him.
Other players are injured/not 100% fit too - and played better than him.

I look forward to seeing how this plays out. The standard in the PL for a player unilaterally terminating his contract is for the player to appear in less than 10% of the team's matches that season. If ManU started Ronaldo and substituted him at the first dead ball in 15% of their matches, that fits the definition and Ronaldo will not be able to terminate his contract.

Bottom line: CR is signed to ManU and he must honor his contract. He's welcome to whine and pout, he does that already.. but who will want him after he sits out for 4 seasons?

Okay this story is getting a little annoying but I've got a question, if he does join Real, How long will it be before Ruud kicks his a** again for mouthing off?

he had a bad foot, and still had a decent euro, give the man a break.

AO24 | 06/21/08, 05:40 PM

**** games did you watch? He sucked, and what's worse, he looked scared.

Wow, the three letter acronym for 'what the fugg' gets filtered. Disney is all powerful.

this is redicilous. he said these quotes after portugal's loss in the Euro tournament. this was not the opportune time to say that it would be his dream to play for a club thats bidding for him while his current club is saying not for sale. he needs an agent or somebody to tell him when to talk and when not to