First, the press attributed false quotes to Scolari, changing statements to make it sound like Scolari had said that Ronaldo should leave Manchester United and head for Barcelona.
Then, the Portugal squad were raided for inside stories after the Portugal v Brazil friendly earlier this month and Hugo Viana jumped at the bait. I’m going to bother copy-pasting Viana’s quotes (you can read them directly off this Sun article), but here’s the gist:
– Viana doesn’t rate Manchester United as a bigger club than Real Madrid or Barcelona
– Ronaldo knows about the interest in him
– Viana thinks that Ronaldo would like to come to Spain
– Viana thinks that if Madrid or Barca come calling, you cannot say no
Fascinating, but ultimately no substance. We all know Ronaldo would eventually want to play in Spain, just like Rossi would eventually want to play in Italy. Yes, if Madrid and Barca come calling, you listen.
But so what? Manchester United have Ronaldo on a better deal than he deserves, probably, and will surely match or beat whatever Barca is willing to offer. Money is not the issue here, and Ronaldo is well settled in Manchester United, PLUS he has a long time in his career so he can afford to spend a few more years here before going to Spain, and to top it off, isn’t it Ronaldo’s agent who is pitching him to other clubs and the press jumping on the story to beat it beyond existence?
Manchester United put a ‘gagging order’ on Ronaldo to prevent him from talking about the speculation – a good move. It would be best if United let the press do their yapping, announced that Hargreaves had been signed and then issued a statement in which Ronny came out and said he wasn’t leaving.
Of course, if he’s actually leaving, things will take on a very different complexion.
But right now, it’s Ronny’s agent and the press milking us fans with their bullshit.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
