CITY TO BID £132M FOR RONALDO
Manchester City's mega-rich new owners are aiming to buy Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas in the January transfer window - and they don't mind splashing out hundreds of millions of pounds to get them.
Abu Dhabi United Group (Adug), who want to make City the biggest club in the world, broke the British transfer record on Monday, spending £32.5m on Brazilian forward Robinho just minutes before the transfer window closed.
And had Adug's £210m takeover gone through earlier than Sunday, a number of other top players could have arrived at Eastlands.
On Monday, public bids were tabled for strikers Dimitar Berbatov, Mario Gomez and David Villa, while there were whispers of a £45m offer for Liverpool's Torres, who scored the winning goal for Spain in the Euro 2008 final.
Anil Bhoyrul, editorial director of www.arabianbusiness.com and a close friend of Adug figurehead Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, claims that Portuguese winger Ronaldo, who plays for City's rivals Manchester United, could be signed for a staggering £132m.
Bhoyrul had a meeting with Al-Fahim on Monday and said of their conversation: "He plans to do with Manchester City what [Roman] Abramovich did with Chelsea.
"I have a list of the players Dr Sulaiman wants to go out and bid for. One is Ronaldo. He says he does not have a problem tabling a £120m bid, just to see what the reaction is. His tactic is to say to Manchester United and Chelsea: 'Hey, we're in town.'
"He also rates Torres and Fabregas. With Ronaldo, he thinks they are the three best players in the world."
Al-Fahim himself said: "Funds are available - we are serious. Ronaldo has said he wants to play for the biggest club in the world, so we will see in January if he is serious.
"Real Madrid were estimating his value at $160m but for a player like that, to actually get him, will cost a lot more - I would think $240m [£132m].
"But why not? We are going to be the biggest club in the world, bigger than both Real Madrid and Manchester United."
Manchester City's mega-rich new owners are aiming to buy Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas in the January transfer window - and they don't mind splashing out hundreds of millions of pounds to get them.
Abu Dhabi United Group (Adug), who want to make City the biggest club in the world, broke the British transfer record on Monday, spending £32.5m on Brazilian forward Robinho just minutes before the transfer window closed.
And had Adug's £210m takeover gone through earlier than Sunday, a number of other top players could have arrived at Eastlands.
On Monday, public bids were tabled for strikers Dimitar Berbatov, Mario Gomez and David Villa, while there were whispers of a £45m offer for Liverpool's Torres, who scored the winning goal for Spain in the Euro 2008 final.
Anil Bhoyrul, editorial director of www.arabianbusiness.com and a close friend of Adug figurehead Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, claims that Portuguese winger Ronaldo, who plays for City's rivals Manchester United, could be signed for a staggering £132m.
Bhoyrul had a meeting with Al-Fahim on Monday and said of their conversation: "He plans to do with Manchester City what [Roman] Abramovich did with Chelsea.
"I have a list of the players Dr Sulaiman wants to go out and bid for. One is Ronaldo. He says he does not have a problem tabling a £120m bid, just to see what the reaction is. His tactic is to say to Manchester United and Chelsea: 'Hey, we're in town.'
"He also rates Torres and Fabregas. With Ronaldo, he thinks they are the three best players in the world."
Al-Fahim himself said: "Funds are available - we are serious. Ronaldo has said he wants to play for the biggest club in the world, so we will see in January if he is serious.
"Real Madrid were estimating his value at $160m but for a player like that, to actually get him, will cost a lot more - I would think $240m [£132m].
"But why not? We are going to be the biggest club in the world, bigger than both Real Madrid and Manchester United."
Labels: Abu Dhabi United Group, Adug, Manchester City, Premier League
