Ronaldo signing would 'cause upset' at Madrid

Chris Barrett
The Guardian
Thursday July 17 2008

Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival at Real Madrid would cause major upset in the dressing room, the club's midfielder Wesley Sneijder warned yesterday. The Dutchman said that bringing in the Manchester United winger on wages vastly superior to his team-mates' would not be well received and added that Ronaldo was not needed.

Ronaldo is being offered a salary of about £150,000 a week after tax by Real and Sneijder said: "It would be bad for the dressing room if he gets a much higher salary than the rest of the squad. It's not important to me but I know other team-mates would not like that at all. Here we have footballers like him, for example Arjen Robben or Robinho. It's obvious that I want to play with Cristiano but you also have to maintain the equilibrium in the dressing room."

Ronaldo is desperate to move to Madrid in the face of United's determination to keep him but Sneijder suggested that the 23-year-old was not required. "For me this Madrid side do not need new signings," he said, adding that if a player was needed in any position it was a striker.

He is keen to keep hold of Robinho, who is wanted by Chelsea. "I hope Robinho stays because I think he is equal to Cristiano Ronaldo. People have criticised Robinho because he hasn't performed in the big matches but I saw important matches for Manchester United and Cristiano didn't perform either. It's not a criticism. I just want to point out that a player can't be at the same level all season."