Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo first came into prominence when he arrived in Manchester as a fresh-faced teenager in 2003 and subsequently set the Premier League alight for his club, helping them achieve domestic and European silverware galore scoring a whopping 84 goals in the process. Since his high-profile move to Real Madrid in 2009 however, United have never quite been the same which is why it has recently come to light that Sir Alex Ferguson’s side are on the hunt for a new winger by the name of James Rodriquez, a Colombian starlet who has been dubbed as the ‘South American’ Cristiano Ronaldo by some sections of the British media.
The 21 year old is currently plying his trade at Portugese side FC Porto and with rumoured competition for his signature from Spanish giants FC Barcelona, attaining this valuable piece of footballing hot property won’t be easy for United as scouts from all over Europe have been rumoured to have watched the South American at the Estadio do Dragao numerous times this season.
Whilst rumoured interest from other clubs in Europe will be a worry for United fans, it’s his £36 million release clause fee that is perhaps the biggest stumbling block. £36 million is substantially more than United paid for Ronaldo almost ten years ago and with a host of attacking options already to choose from for Sir Alex, the mind boggles as to why United would want to fork out such a sum. Barca much like United will not have James Rodriquez high up their list of priorities as they continue to struggle for defensive cover. Following their 2-1 defeat over Celtic in the Champions League last week which highlighted their very apparent frailties at the back, Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova will no doubt be on the hunt for a new defensive talisman capable of taking the reins when Barca legend Carles Puyol finally hangs up his boots.
Whilst this recent transfer story has no doubt excited fans of both United and Barca, with all things being considered, namely the extortionate price, it is unlikely that this exciting young Colombian winger will be leaving Porto any time soon.
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andym
Founder and chief editor of La Liga Blog, Andy fell in love with Spanish football after a university placement year in the Costa Del Sol. His favourite Tapas is Albondigas and on Saturday afternoons, Andy can regularly be found trying to emulate his hero Carles Puyol for his amateur football team.