Real to Milan: Ronaldo Won't Go for Free

• Football Italia, Monday, January 22, 2007 3:59 PM

Just as Ronaldo's near-term MLS prospects looked to be coming to a close, Real Madrid and AC Milan have hit an impasse over the manner of the player's likely transfer. Real wants a transfer fee, of course, since the striker still has a year-and-a-half left on his contract. Milan's position is that the striker isn't widely being pursued in the market, nor does the club desperately need his services.

"It is now out of our hands," Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani said Monday. "It really doesn't just depend on us at this moment. If the player frees himself from Real then he'll arrive, otherwise he won't." In other words, Real would then have to buyout his contract, something it clearly doesn't want to do. "One thing is clear, we can't let Ronaldo leave here for nothing," Madrid Sporting Director Predrag Mijatovic said. Over the summer, Real Madrid rejected a $21 million offer for the Brazilian; it certainly doesn't look like they can get that much for him now.

Does the standoff mean the former World Cup winner may yet land in MLS? No, it's still unlikely, particularly because Ronaldo only wants to move to Milan, despite interest from MLS, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

Read the whole story at Football Italia »