Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he told Manchester United to put a 150 million pound price tag on Cristiano Ronaldo’s head in 2009 and believes Real Madrid would have paid it.
The Portuguese winger became the most expensive player in football history when he joined the Spanish club for 80 million pounds but Ferguson believes United could have brought in almost twice as much money.
“I told David Gill to ask for 150 million pounds. Perez would have paid,” Ferguson is quoted by as telling the player’s official digital fan magazine, CR7.
“I told David, ‘Ask for 150 million.’ He said: ‘Don’t be silly. They’ll never pay 150 million.’”
Ronaldo, who joined United from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, had scored 91 goals in his final three seasons at Old Trafford when Real came calling.
He has gone on to score 238 goals in just 233 games for Real and was named the world’s outstanding footballer of 2013 by FIFA.
Real have gone on to break the world transfer record again by spending a reported 85 million pounds on Gareth Bale last summer, an outlay which has left Ferguson wondering just how Real would have gone for Ronaldo.
