Cris set for record United deal

Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly on the verge of signing the biggest contract in world football with Manchester United, worth £40 million.

The Portuguese winger, 23, will see his weekly salary rise from £100,000 to £150,000, and will put pen to paper before he leaves for Euro 2008.

A source from Manchester United told The Sun: "This will be the biggest contract in the club's history. Given Ronaldo's achievements over the past two years, it's easy to understand why.

"There is no doubt he is the best player in the world and we want to make sure he is happy at United. There is only one place for him and that is Old Trafford."

Ronaldo has had an incredible season so far. He has scored 37 goals for the club in all competitions and recently surpassed George Best's single-season record for a midfielder.

He is also a contender for the Golden Boot, given to Europe's top goalscorer every season. His only realistic competition is Sevilla's Luis Fabiano.

The news will no doubt come as a relief to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, as the midfielder has been surrounded by interest and speculation all season.

His new contract puts him well ahead of team-mate Wayne Rooney's weekly salary (£112,000), and means he will now be better paid than Chelsea's Michael Ballack (£130,000) and John Terry (£120,000).

New contract, New house, New car

CRISTIANO Ronaldo has celebrated becoming the Premier League’s highest-paid star by buying this £4million pad.

The Man Utd winger, 23 today, is set to sign a £44million contract to keep him at Old Trafford until 2014 — earning him £7million A YEAR.

And he has wasted no time moving into the fabulous five-bedroom mansion, which boasts an indoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, gym, cinema room and media suite.

Portuguese international Ronaldo, raised in a tin shack on Madeira, paid £3,895,000 for the property, with three floors and majestic countryside views.

The Alderley Edge house is close to team-mate Rio Ferdinand and just two miles from Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ronaldo was keen to leave behind the home in Woodford, Cheshire, where he romped with vice girls last year.

A source said: “This new place is absolutely awesome.”

Cristiano Ronaldo has bought a £875k Bugatti Veyron - just days after he invested in a £4m mansion.

The stunning car is one of the most expensive models in the world.

The footie hunk, 22, is said to have fallen in love with the car when it featured in an ad he filmed last year.

Despite splashing out close to £1m on the motor, Cristiano will still have to wait 12 months before getting his hands on it.

'There is a client list which includes some of the wealthiest people in the world but he has to get in line like everyone else,' a source tells The Sun.

Cristiano decided to treat himself to the Bugatti after signing a £44m contract which ties him to Manchester United until 2014.

The deal means he'll be the highest paid star in the Premier League.

United Prepare £44M Ronaldo Contract

Cristiano Ronaldo could soon be the Premiership's top earner as Manchester United prepare a bumper £44M contract. Reports on Sunday suggest that Sir Alex Ferguson is prepared to disregard the wage structure at Old Trafford in order to offer star man Cristiano Ronaldo a massive new deal.

The Portuguese will turn 23-year-old in the coming week and will be able to toast a £140,000-a-year deal. This would see Ronaldo oust Chelsea skipper John Terry as the Premier League’s highest earner. The defender ‘only’ makes £130,000.

Ronaldo signed a five-year deal last season that ties him to the Red Devils until 2012. However, with the in-form winger set to breeze past the 30 goal target set for him by his manager recently, he is set to be rewarded.

The Real Madrid transfer rumours are never far away from Ronaldo. The winger himself admitted earlier in the season that La Liga is the best fit for his football and hopes to move to Spain at some point.

The new contract may now be penned from the summer, by the Glazer family have reportedly given Sir Alex the OK to draft up the new deal, which will keep Ronaldo at the club until 2014.

Whatever happens, sources suggest that Fergie will do everything in his power to keep Ronaldo at Old Trafford as long as he is manager.

No Ronaldo doubts

Sir Alex Ferguson never had any doubts that Cristiano Ronaldo would sign a new contract at United – and now the Reds boss says fans can look forward to years more of a player with “the same skill factor as Maradona and Pele."

The 22-year-old has pledged his future to United until 2012 and Sir Alex says Ronaldo is at the right club to continue his astronomical development.

"Without question, Cristiano is getting to the level of best player in the world,” added the United boss. “It is up to others to decide whether he is as good as Maradona and Pele. That is the challenge in front of him now.

"He is one of the best signings I have ever made. The measurement of his improvement this year is astronomical. In terms of top flight football, where do you find a winger who has scored 20 goals. It is incredible.”

Though Sir Alex says he was always sure Ronaldo would put pen to paper on a new deal, the speculation emanating from Spain that Real Madrid and Barcelona are eyeing a move for the Portuguese winger, must surely have been a concern.

“I had no doubts, but I think everyone else did outside Old Trafford,” added the boss. “I was confident about Cristiano signing because he’s happy here, his family are happy here and he’s at the right club.

“What we did was believe that Cristiano is at the right club. He believes that, too. Essentially, there was no reason for him to think about leaving. He’s well liked at the club, there is a
good atmosphere in the dressing room and he is playing in front of 76,000 people every week.”

Sir Alex did, however, deliver stinging criticism of the transfer tactics employed in Spain.

“They keep talking in Spain the way they do and unsettling clubs like ourselves,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to them, I don’t think they have any care for Manchester United or anyone else when they decide to put their net out for the best players in the world. They’ve shown that over the years, they don’t have any regard for how you feel.

“It seems to happen time and time again. There’s no point in reporting it to UEFA or FIFA. It wouldn’t matter to them if you fined them. When it goes on and on, you start looking at the substance to it. It’s a game they play in their election process.

“People perceive Real Madrid as a club of galacticos or whatever it is they call them. It’s a pre-conceived notion about themselves. Barcelona are also a fantastic club, but you can’t say either club is miles in front of Manchester United. I think most people recognise that we are one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

But the indisputable fact is that Ronaldo is a United player, under contract for a further five years. In that time, Sir Alex says the player has no limitations as to how good he can become. “I think he is the best player in the world, I really do,” he said. “He will continue to improve because the measure of his development is astronomical.”

CR signs new deal

Manchester United is delighted to announce that it has agreed terms with Cristiano Ronaldo on a new five-year contract keeping him at the club until at least June 2012.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: “It is fantastic news, it emphasises the point that Cristiano is happy here and that he is at the right club.

"He has a great relationship with the team, staff and the fans and he will go on to be one of Manchester United’s great players.”

Cristiano added: “I am delighted. I spoke with Sir Alex and David Gill about my future and everyone knew that I wanted to stay. "I am very happy at the club. I want to win trophies and hopefully we'll do that this season."

Ronaldo: I can do it all at Man Utd

Get Your Rudebox!!
After penning his new five-year contract, Cristiano Ronaldo declared he could achieve everything he wanted at Manchester United.

"I wanted to stay," he told MUTV. "I am at the right club and this is why I signed.

"Everything is okay here. I am happy with my colleagues, my friends and my coaches.

"The supporters have also helped me very much and I am really happy here."

With an impressive 20 goals to his name this term, Ronaldo has been the major driving force behind United's Treble bid.

He scored twice in the midweek Champions League rout of Roma and will tomorrow hope to guide the Red Devils into the FA Cup final at the expense of Premiership basement boys Watford.

Yet, despite the host of accolades coming his way, the youngster admits he still has plenty of improving to do.

"I was only 18 when I came here but everyone at the club has helped me," he said.

"I have learned a lot already but I still have more to learn and I just want to keep going.

"I want to win more trophies here and hopefully, I can do that this season."

New contract......New value

Manchester United have opened talks with Cristiano Ronaldo over a new contract, but they may have to break their wage structure and offer him more than £120,000 a week if they are to persuade him to reject the persistent overtures from Barcelona and Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Ronaldo revealed yesterday that negotiations over a new deal had begun, telling a Portuguese radio station that “I hope to reach an agreement as soon as possible”, but he also reiterated his longstanding ambition to play in Spain. At 22, he has time on his side, but his words serve as a warning that retaining his services in the long term is likely to be one battle after another.

For now, United are quietly confident that the Portugal winger will commit his future to the club by signing a second new contract in 16 months. His present deal, which was signed in November 2005, runs until June 2010 and is worth an estimated £70,000 a week.

United are prepared to increase that to £100,000 a week, which would put him alongside Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney at the top of the Old Trafford payroll, but sources indicated last night that Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is seeking a sum closer to £120,000 a week to reflect his value as one of the world’s elite players.

United would prefer to retain their existing wage structure, which operates on several tiers, but they will do everything possible to accommodate Ronaldo in recognition of his outstanding form since signing his most recent contract.

With more than three years left on that deal, it is less a question of securing his future than of rewarding him for his performances in an attempt to stave off interest from Real, who have informed third parties that they would be prepared to offer United a world-record fee in excess of £48 million to take him to Madrid this summer, and Barcelona.

Both Spanish clubs have been encouraged to believe that Ronaldo plans to join them sooner rather than later, but his personal circumstances have changed since last summer, when a Spanish girlfriend — from whom he has since separated — was understood to be encouraging him to move to Madrid, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the World Cup finals, when he was vilified by sections of the media for his role in Portugal’s elimination of England at the quarter-final stage.

Sir Alex Ferguson, among others, has spoken of Ronaldo’s newfound contentment in Manchester, the manager saying that all Spain has to offer is better weather. As the player left Old Trafford on Wednesday night, after United’s Champions League victory over Lille, he said: “I would like to play in Spain one day, but I am happy here at Manchester. We have talked [about a new contract]. Nothing has been decided yet and I would like to stay.”

Ronaldo’s feelings for United have been strengthened by their success this season, with the 1-0 second-leg win over Lille continuing their quest for honours on three fronts.

That mission has been hit in the past week by injuries — most notably Mikaël Silvestre’s dislocated shoulder and Louis Saha’s pulled hamstring — but David Beckham, the Real midfield player, believes that his former club can repeat their feat of 1999, when they won the Premiership title, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

“I can see United winning everything this season,” Beckham said in an interview promoting the exhibition match at Old Trafford on Tuesday between United and a Rest of Europe XI.

“I believe that because I’ve seen the football they play and I’ve seen the togetherness of the team. They’ve played some amazing football this season and I do believe that they can go all the way.”