Buzzin Football

The return of Florentino Perez to Real Madrid and his promise to build a second team of Galactico’s is now to be taken as seriously as Manchester City’s intentions.

But why is it that when Man City offered £100 million for Kaka, the majority of English football pundits, commentators and overpaid ex-footballers shook their heads and frowned at the idea that Manchester City were prepared to pay such a large amount of money for any one player.  But £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo between Real Madrid and Manchester United has not received the same level of criticism?

I believe there are equal measures of hypocracy and snobbery.  It’s okay for Real Madrid and Manchester United  because they are two of the biggest clubs in the world.  As Alex Ferguson likes to tell the media when playing mind games against Chelsea, ‘Manchester United has history!’

And like when Roman Abramovich made Chelsea the richest club in the world with his own money, the Manchester City owner and member of the Arab Abu Dhabi royal family, 38 year-old Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has unfairly been discrimated against as the richest clubs in the world have always paid large sums of money to prize the best players away from other teams.  It’s just not fair that someone can bully Ferguson and Manchester United around, is it?

There is an obvious elitist factor at play. Furthermore, surely it’s more acceptable for Manchester City and Chelsea to pay large sums of money for top players in this current climate than it is the likes of Manchester United.  Afterall, the Glazer Family bought Man United with borrowed money and have saddled that great club with allegedly £511 million of debt.  The sale of Ronaldo will not even pay 50% of this year’s interest repayment on Manchester United’s loans which allegedly stands at £45.5 million.

Kaka is one of the best players in the world.  But £56 million paid to AC Milan for the young Brazilian midfield playmaker, compared to £80 million for Ronaldo,  is a bargain.  Bayern Munich’s Frank Ribery and Liverpool’s Xavi Alonso were also on Florentino Perez’s wishlist at a recent press conference.  Those players have also been courted by Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively.

This summer’s transfer market has just got exciting.  Real Madrid have the money and the history to buy more top players, while Manchester City are going to find it more difficult to persuade the best players in the world to join them unless they are pushing 30 and are content with a massive weekly pay check and no European medals next season.

Manchester United will I assume look to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, maybe with someone like Frank Ribery; and if Carlos Tevez leaves Old Trafford they will most definitely need another striker to play alongside Wayne Rooney.  How about Stewart Downing and Jermain Defoe?

Arsenal need to strengthen their squad if they are prepared to put up a reasonable fight to stay in the ‘big four’ and Chelsea will have offered Carlo Ancelotti a reasonable amount of money to rebuild an aging team, if they are to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership or the Champions League.

Exciting times ahead this summer.