Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Pictures used are property of The Sun and its licensors
THE man with Cristiano Ronaldo in dramatic pictures printed by The Sun compiled a detailed dossier on the Manchester United star which he handed to Real Madrid. These are the photos that Madrid yesterday claimed could not possibly exist. They show Ronaldo secretly meeting Real’s fitness coach Walter Di Salvo in Rome.
Di Salvo worked with Ronaldo for three seasons at Old Trafford, where they formed a strong bond. Sources close to Ronaldo insisted at the time it was a chance meeting as the Portugal winger took a two-day break in the Italian capital.
Yet the full picture only now begins to emerge because we can reveal Di Salvo, who controversially left United last summer to join Madrid, gave the Spanish giants a FULL report on Ronaldo.
In it were all his observations of the United superstar during their time together at Old Trafford — precious information about his lifestyle, fitness, diet and personality. Madrid technical director Miguel Angel Portugal, sporting director Pedja Mijatovic and board member Carlos Bucero asked Di Salvo to compile his detailed assessment on EVERY aspect of Ronaldo.
Di Salvo said Ronaldo is the “perfect professional” — a brilliant trainer who watches his diet and dedicates himself to his football. It was also said that Ronaldo is the centre of attention in the dressing room but behaves with humility and great respect towards his team-mates. In other words, he is no big-time Charlie and will not unsettle a dressing room with airs and graces.
Di Salvo left Old Trafford for Madrid in bitter circumstances. He was once described by Alex Ferguson as the “secret weapon” behind United’s successful title campaign in 2006-07. United’s assistant manager Carlos Queiroz felt betrayed when his close pal walked out and headed to Madrid. Queiroz even launched a furious attack on the fitness coach and has not spoken to him since.
The former Real Madrid coach has even more reason to be angry now because Ronaldo and Di Salvo stayed close friends. There can be little doubt Ronaldo regards Di Salvo as a personal friend and confidante rather than as a representative of Real. And there is little doubt the Italian told Ronaldo that the Bernabeu is the perfect place for the world’s best player to strut his stuff.
Ronaldo, 23, confided in friends that he views Di Salvo like an older brother and often chats to him about his fitness. They also discuss how the player can stay sharp for both United and Portugal at crucial stages of the season. Ronaldo even uses the Italian as a sounding board when he grumbles about life at Old Trafford.
Di Salvo provided the answers Real’s directors wanted to hear with president Ramon Calderon telling the board a few weeks ago: “We have done everything in our power to convince the lad to come. Now it’s up to Cristiano.”
As revealed in last week’s Sun, Calderon then admitted to a close pal: “We’ve tied things up with the kid. Everything’s done with Cristiano. The only thing that remains is for him to convince Manchester to sell.”
We also broke the story last week that the Spaniards expect Ronaldo to stage a strike if United do not sit down with Madrid to thrash out a deal.
Calderon has even confirmed SunSport’s exclusive on Saturday that Real want Ronaldo because he will be worth half a billion pounds in spin-off cash. He said Real are willing to pay anything for Ronaldo — like the world record £47million fee they paid Juventus for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.
The Spanish giants are convinced he would generate huge income for the club. Calderon also insists Real cannot force United to sell — but he again sent out a message for Ronaldo to force his way out of Old Trafford.
The Real president added: “All we have are what the papers say and rumours the player seems to want to leave. It’s an impossible operation because Manchester doesn’t want to sell him.Nobody can buy something when the owner doesn’t want to sell. So today it’s impossible. But if United decide to sell, then we would have to ask them about the player and find an agreement on the price. There are many factors.
“The price is not important. We had a player like Zidane who came here for £47m and it was an magnificent investment. It’s not a question of money but a question of efficiency."
Calderon added: “The case of Cristiano does not affect the image of the club abroad. I would be proud if big clubs made multi-million offers for Real Madrid players. In the end, if a player wants to leave — whatever the offer is — he will walk. The question is to give him guarantees of success.”
scored this goal at 7:12 PM
