Madrid - About 85,000 Real Madrid fans packed the Estadio
Santiago Bernabeu on Monday night to welcome Cristiano Ronaldo, the
largest such gathering in the history of Spanish football.
Real president Florentino Perez - who has paid Manchester United a
record 94 million euro (131.45 million dollars) for Ronaldo -
introduced the Portuguese winger as 'one of the chosen few.'
Ronaldo, 24, was clearly moved by the warmth of his reception and
looked close to tears. He finally managed to say, 'I am very happy to
be here ... my dream since childhood, of playing for Real Madrid, has
come true.'
He then delighted the packed stadium by juggling a ball and
strolling around.
Ronaldo will wear the number 9 shirt for Real, who hope to sell
around 100,000 replica shirts in the next two weeks.
Earlier on Monday, Ronaldo flew into Madrid for successful medical
checks and to sign a six-year contract with Real. He will earn around
13 million euros per season, making him the best paid player in the
world.
Perez is determined to build a star-studded team capable of
challenging European champions Barcelona, and has already splashed
out around 210 million euro in a record spending spree on Ronaldo,
Kaka, Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol.
According to the Spanish media, Perez is prepared to spend up to
300 million euro on his new team, despite having been criticized for
his profligacy in times of crisis by Prime Minister Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero and UEFA president Michel Platini, among others.
Apparently, Perez's next targets are David Silva of Valencia,
Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich and Liverpool pair Xabi Alonso and
Alvaro Arbeloa.
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