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Real Madrid 'refused Man City bid for
Van Nistelrooy'
AFP
Thursday 04 September 2008
Real Madrid turned down a "blank
cheque" for their Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy
from Manchester City after selling their Brazilian forward
Robinho to the English side, sports daily Marca reported
on Wednesday.
Manchester City and its new owner, billionaire Arab
businessman Sulaiman Al-Fahim of the UAE, offered an
"out of the ordinary" sum for the 32-year-old
after sealing their purchase of Robinho on Monday for
42 million euros (61 million dollars), it said.
Al-Fahim, who wants to turn Manchester City into the
biggest football club in the world, said on Tuesday
he was willing to pay 150 million euros for crosstown
rival Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano
Ronaldo.
Real Madrid had offered around 85 million euros for
Ronaldo over the summer but the 23-year-old player decided
to stay with Manchester United for at least another
year.
Al-Fahim is also interested in signing FC Barcelona's
French international striker Thierry Henry and Valencia's
Spanish international striker David Villa, the top-scorer
at Euro 2008.
Spanish media reported that he is also interested in
Arsenal's Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Liverpool's
striker Fernando Torres.
Al-Fahim has not disclosed the amount he is paying
for City when he made the purchase on Monday on behalf
of the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment,
of which he is a board member.
The National, an English-language Abu Dhabi daily,
earlier on Tuesday estimated the value of the buy-out
at 177 million dollars.
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