Madrid, July 6 (DPA) Cristiano Ronaldo flew in to Madrid at lunchtime Monday, in order to prepare for what promised to be a spectacular presentation to the Real fans Monday night.
Around 80,000 “Madridista” fans were expected to pack Real’s Estadio Santiago Bernabeu to welcome Ronaldo, world football’s most expensive player, to the club.
Real have paid Manchester United around 94 million euros (131.45 million dollars) for the 24 year-old Portuguese star, a record-breaking fee which has drawn criticism from Spanish Primie Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, from UEFA President Michel Platini and from various Spanish church leaders.
Ronaldo flew in to the Spanish capital accompanied by family members, friends and his personal chef.
He was due to undergo exhaustive medical tests Monday afternoon, sign his lucrative six-year contract – and then be presented to the fans.
It is expected that he will wear the number 9 shirt for Real, though this has not yet been confirmed by the club.
New Real president Florentino Perez has so far plashed out around 210 million euros – the biggest spending spree ever seen in football – on Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol.
According to Spanish media reports, Perez is prepared to spend up to 300 million euros building a team capable of challenging European champions Barcelona.
Apparently, his next targets are Franck Riberty of Bayern Munich, David Silva of Valencia and Liverpool pair Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
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