Christiano Ronaldo says he is proud to be the object of a £ 80 million bid from Real Madrid.

“I have had my time at Man United. It’s time to look forward and £80million is quite a sum of money. This deal is historic,” said Ronaldo, who is currently on holiday in Los Angeles.

“It’s flattering when two of the top teams in the world want you to play for them.

“Now I can look forward to Real Madrid and a new stage in my career. I learned of the deal here in LA and heard from my people that United had accepted.”

Source: football365.com

The clash of probably the best two players in the world, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the UEFA Champions League final tonight have been highly anticipated.

Defending champions Manchester United will walk out at Rome’s Olympic Stadium for Wednesday’s show-case final to face a Barcelona side who have already humiliated European giants Bayern Munich and Real Madrid this season.

It promises to be a battle royal between two teams at the peak of their powers and includes a sub-battle between arguably the world’s best two attacking players who can terrorise defences on their day.

United’s Ronaldo currently has the upper hand having won both the world player of the year crown and the Ballon d’Or in 2008 while his side aim to retain their Champions League title by beating Messi’s Barcelona side.

Dead-ball specialist Ronaldo hit a staggering 42 goals in all competitions last season, but his winner away to Porto and two at Arsenal in this season’s Champions League campaign have gone some way to answering criticism of his big-game temperament.

Barcelona centre-back Yaya Toure admits the Spaniards can ill-afford to allow Ronaldo the freedom to control the midfield if they are to fulfill their ambition to win the competition they last claimed in 2006.

“They are physically very strong, they have a truly great footballer in Cristiano Ronaldo and they won the Champions League last year, so we know it will be very difficult,” said the 26-year-old Ivory Coast international.

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The Portugal and Manchester United football star Christiano Ronaldo was named FIFA World Player of 2008 on Monday.

Ronaldo, who is also holder of the prestigious Ballon d’Or for the European Footballer of the Year, beat off competition from 2007 winner Kaka (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Fernando Torres (Spain) and Xavi (Spain).

“It’s an overwhelming moment in my career and I’d like to dedicate this award to my family, friends and colleagues,” he said.

“Winning the Champions League for me was the most memorable moment of 2008,” added Ronaldo, who scored in the final but missed a penalty in the penalty shootout against Chelsea.

Ronaldo went out of his way to heap praise on United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, with whom relations became strained during last summer over whether he was going to leave the club for Real Madrid.

“It’s also true that the manager always has an important role to play,” said Ronaldo.

“It was a great season for me and for my club, and the coach was important for me because I learned a lot from him.

“His experience over so many years is of paramount importance – it’s a privilege to have such a great club manager.

“This is the climax of a fantastic era for me. I’m happy and proud about what has been done by my team and what we have won.

“I am lucky to be part of the history of a club like Manchester United.”

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With last years award going to world cup stalwart Fabio Cannavaro, who at 33 was the oldest player to receive the award, we now enter a new era where the world will be ruled by any one of three players all under 25. The Fifa world player of the year gala takes place on the 17th of December and with the Official shortlist down to three very promising attacking players lets take a closer look at each nominee.

Lionel Messi

Age 20

FC Barcelona

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