World Soccer Presents - Rise of Ronaldo (2022)

BELOW:Greeting...

PerezandAlfredo

whoprovidedhimwiththe formal£49mdeposit-guarantee
thatheneededtorun forthepresidencyinthe first place

• a figurethatsawhispotentialchallengersdropoutof
  therunning.
  Eyebrowswereraised,andsowerevoices.Everywhere
  youturned– especiallyifyouturned in Catalonia– people
  werecomplainingthatMadridweregettingloanswhen
  otherswerebeingturneddown.FinanceministerElena
  Salgadoconsideredit“odd”and even primeminister Jose
  LuisRodriguezZapaterosaidhe thoughtRonaldohad
  beenexpensive.
  Perez agreedwith most peoplethat£80misexpensive.
  ButforPerezexpensive doesn’tmeanruinous.Infact,for
  itmeansquitethereverse.WhenRealMadridsigned
  Nicolas elkafor£25mbackin 1999 , thethen-president
  Lorenzo Sanzescribedthedealas a “beautifulmadness”.
  Perez believeitisnotmadnessatall – andthatisthe
  cruxofthe sue.
  Prz nvin h nk h hh n
  . “
  .

Itisa themehehas returnedtooverandover again,

anditisthe centralplankofthegalacticopolicy; oneso

graphicallydisplayedin hispurchaseofDavidBeckham,

themostmarketablefootballerever– thoughthe impact

ofthe Ronaldotransfersuggeststhe formerEngland

captainmaysoonhavea challenger.

Beckhamwasalwaysdeeplyuncomfortablewith

suggestionsthathewas onlyinSpaintosellshirts but,while

hiseffortonthe pitchwas beyondreproach,itwas hisiconic

statusnothiscrossingabilitythattrulyseduced Perez.

“Thereare‘investment’footballersand‘cost’footballers,”

saysPerez.Itisthatreasoningthatsaw himbackoff from

signingDavidVillain mid-JunebecauseVilla,hesaid,was

expensiveat £ 34 m.

PeoplewhohaveseenVillaplaywoulddisagree:heis

surelyworth halfasmuchasRonaldo. ButPerez believes

thatplayerswithouta Ballon d’Or,withoutaninternational

profile,are notworth as much,howevergoodtheyare at

f Th iwh h h Kk nRn fir

• “ ”.