Manchester United transfer news: Cristiano Ronaldo appears to question Harry Maguire’s £80m transfer fee

It’s been 10 years since the five-time Ballon d’Or winner broke the world transfer record when he joined Real Madrid

Tom Kershaw
Wednesday 21 August 2019 06:54 EDT
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Harry Maguire proud to sign for 'amazing club' as defender completes Old Trafford move

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Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed he “doesn’t agree” with centre-backs and goalkeepers being sold for “€70 or 80m” and believes a player who scores goals is worth “three, four times more, easy”.

The Juventus forward, who became the world’s most expensive player when he left Manchester United to join Real Madrid for £80m in 2009, believes inflation is causing clubs to gamble on players before they’ve proved their worth.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner specifically mentioned the price of defenders and goalkeepers with Harry Maguire’s £80m move to United from Leicester breaking the world record for a fee paid for a defender this summer.

Ajax’s 19-year-old captain became Ronaldo’s teammate at Juventus this summer, joining for £67.5m after protracted negotiations with a number of Europe’s top sides.

“It’s difficult to make calculations in modern football,” Ronaldo told Portuguese channel TV1. “[Clubs] gamble a lot on potential and the football industry is different.

“Leaving the case of Joao Felix to the side, any player can go for 100 million euros, even without showing anything.

Harry Maguire became the world’s most expensive defender this summer
Harry Maguire became the world’s most expensive defender this summer (EPA)

“There is more money in football. A centre back and a goalkeeper can go for 70 or 80 million euros. ”I don’t agree [with it] but it’s the world that we live in and you have to respect it.”

“When I see goalkeepers selling for 75 million euros, a player who does what I do on the pitch and who scores goals is worth three, four times more. easy,” he declared.

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