The eternal greed machine that is club soccer just outdid itself. The present over-correction in the market which reversed club domination now finds players without any shred of guilt opting out of multi- year contracts and hold out for more money. Arsene Wenger believes that the present course is out of control reminiscent of a Wild West mentality.
It is interesting he makes these observations in the context of the Ronaldo saga. The only way clubs can be forced to make further concessions is to paint them as being the entities that wield ultimate power which is what Ronaldo and his agent are doing.
Ronaldo feels that leading Man U to two Premiership and a CL title is enough price to be paid for his independence. It seems he reportedly pursued his dream of joining Real since December of last year. His perfomance seems to be partly fueled by the perception that if he had a great season which resulted in winning Man U its titles that the club in its gratitude would have no problems releasing him.
Naive or calculatingly conniving? Does Ronaldo really think that Man U would let go of its golden goose, the one player chiefly responsible for its success and give Chelsea and Arsenal snapping at its heels, a huge leg up.
Or is Ronaldo calculating that Man U comes off looking like an ungrateful slave master with a sketchy conscience, forcing players into servitude, unwilling to negotiate even with Real ready to break the bank. The only way they can redeem themselves is to re-negotiate his five year club contract agreed upon just last year to give him more money. Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes believes that Man U will make that happen in order to help Ronaldo renew his passion to play for the club.
Either way Real is ready to offer a sum which is making most pundits and managers sick to the stomach. The asking rate is worth €200m (£158m) for his services. The so called best player in the world is worth more than Werder Bremen’s valuation.