Man Utd accept £80m Ronaldo bid!

Ronaldo was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid last summer

Manchester United have accepted a world record offer of £80m from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.

"United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player," read a statement from the Old Trafford club.

It added that the decision came at Ronaldo's request after he "again expressed his desire to leave".

United described the offer for the 24-year-old forward as unconditional and added that they expected the matter to be concluded by 30 June.

It is understood that the transfer fee would be made available for Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson to invest in the transfer market.

Madrid signed Brazilian Kaka for a reported £56m earlier in the week, surpassing the previous world record fee in pounds sterling of £45.6m, which Real paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.

That deal was sealed by the ambition of returning Real president Florentino Perez, who previously led the Spanish club from 2000 to 2006 - during the famous galacticos era.

And Perez had previously made it clear he would do "everything possible" to sign Ronaldo.

Archive from April: Ronaldo wanting to stay

Madrid have also been linked with Liverpool's Xabi Alonso, Valencia's David Villa and Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery since Perez's unopposed election signalled the return of their vast spending.

There had been reports that Madrid would have to pay a £26m penalty clause to Ronaldo as a consequence of an alleged "pre-contract" arrangement that had been agreed with the player's representative Jorge Mendes, if the Spanish club did not sign him this summer.

But the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Madrid stated that Real had yet to confirm any agreement to buy Ronaldo or the agreed price of £80m stated by United. Thursday is a public holiday in Madrid and no announcements are expected.

"This was one that was never ever going to go away," said BBC Radio 5 Live chief football correspondent Mike Ingham.

CRISTIANO RONALDO FACTFILE 1985: Born 5 February 2002: Make Sporting Lisbon debut 2003: Signs for Man Utd in £12m deal 2004: Wins first trophy, the FA Cup, with United 2006: Expresses desire to join Real Madrid 2007: Wins first Premier League title 2008: Wins Champions League 2009: Voted World and European player of the year 2009: Man Utd accept £80m bid from Real

"After the Champions League final he criticised Sir Alex Ferguson's tactics, he threw his toys out of the pram in the derby with Manchester City after he was substituted. He's been very high maintenance. And £80m is hard to resist.

"Personally, I'm very sorry to see him leave but it's absolutely inevitable. If it hadn't been this summer it would have been next summer.

"This could mean they might be able to keep Carlos Tevez, maybe Wayne Rooney can be liberated."

Ronaldo, who joined United in 2003 from Sporting Lisbon for £12.2m, was strongly linked with a move to the Spanish capital in the summer of 2008.

United lodged a complaint with world governing body Fifa last June over what they believed was a deliberate attempt by Real to unsettle the winger.

After a long, drawn-out saga that ran through the summer months, the Portugal international insisted he was happy at Old Trafford and remained at United for the 2008-2009 season.

606: DEBATE No United fan can tell me he won't be a miss, he will be and I admit I'm sad to see him go one-united

"Now I understand I made the best decision," Ronaldo told Spanish sports paper Marca after he had made that choice. "I am with Manchester in body and soul."

But the speculation soured relations between the clubs and last December United manager Ferguson said he would not "sell that mob a virus".

And despite Ronaldo's claim that he wanted to remain at Old Trafford, he was the subject of constant speculation during the 2008-2009 season and often gave mixed messages about his future.

If Ronaldo does sign for Madrid, his last appearance for United will have been in the Champions League final in Rome - in which the Premier League champions were beaten 2-0 by Barcelona. "History will remember him very well in terms of his contribution as a footballer, he'll also be seen as petulant, egotistical and stubborn but he's been a wonderful player," said United We Stand fanzine editor Andy Mitten.

It took time for Ronaldo to find his best form after arriving in England but he became a pivotal player for United, who have won the last three Premier League titles.

In the 2007-08 season he scored 42 goals, which topped the previous club record for a midfielder held by George Best, and was on the scoresheet as United defeated Chelsea in the Champions League final.

Ronaldo was the top scorer for his club last season, with 26 goals, taking his total for United to 118 in 292 appearances.

BBC SPORTS REPORT.