UEFA president Platini says Ronaldo record deal not good for football

LONDON - UEFA president Michel Platini is unhappy with the megabucks deal that has seen Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo shift his allegiance from Manchester United to Real Madrid.

The Sun quoted Platini, as saying: “These excessive transfers are happening almost every day. They represent a serious challenge to the idea of fair play and the concept of financial balance in our competitions.”

“UEFA are working hard with clubs to establish a new set of rules to clean up the system and give it a more solid and more transparent base. That is our top priority,” he added.

Sky News quoted him as saying: “It is very puzzling at a time when football faces some of its worst ever financial challenges.”

Former United manager Tommy Doherty told Sky News the deal was good news for United, but a further indication “the game’s gone mad”.

Former United player Clayton Blackmore agreed it was best for his former club to let their star winger leave.

“If Cristiano Ronaldo wants to go, he will not be in a good state of mind and it isn’t good for the team,” he told Sky News.

But he said the Portuguese international should take heed if he thinks he can turn around the fortunes of Real Madrid, who ended last season trophyless.

“I remember a few years ago, they have six or seven world-class players and they couldn’t win anything,” he said.

“You don’t automatically win cups when you move to a new club.”

News of the World sports editor Paul McCarthy said although Ronaldo will leave the Premier League as a “fantastic player”, he failed to match the top bracket of players in the division’s history.

“His goals and his exploits will live long in the memory,” he told Sky News.

“But I do not think he has had a massive impact on the Premier League - not as big as Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry - and I think that Manchester United will be able to move on,” he added. (ANI)