/ 31 January 2007

Ronaldo bids farewell to Madrid

Ronaldo’s farewell to Real Madrid didn’t include any fond words for coach Fabio Capello.

The World Cup’s all-time leading scorer left Madrid for AC Milan on Tuesday, returning to Italy’s Serie A for a reported â,¬7,5-million transfer fee. The 30-year-old Brazil striker joined Milan until 2008 — the same length as the remainder of his contract at Madrid.

”My heart’s breaking but life goes on,” Ronaldo told reporters in Madrid. ”I’m a great Madrid fan. I’m not so sure about the coach.”

Ronaldo hasn’t been picked to play by Capello since a January 7 defeat at Deportivo La Coruna.

”I want to thank all the fans who supported me, all my teammates who were with me, all the coaches I’ve had — except one,” Ronaldo said. ”I wasn’t wanted and as I’m a professional and I love soccer, I had to find another solution.”

The three-time Fifa Player of the Year is returning to the city where he spent five years with Milan rivals Inter Milan.

”All’s well that ends well,” Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani said. ”Tomorrow [Wednesday] morning he will begin training and start preparations. He’s our player now.”

Ronaldo had agreed to personal terms with Milan last week and passed a medical test on Friday. Milan striker Ricardo Oliveira will reportedly move to Madrid on loan as part of the deal.

”Something could happen,” Galliani said of Oliveira’s possible transfer. ”I’m not denying the talks, which would foresee a loan with an option to buy. But I don’t think it’ll get off the ground. That’s why Oliveira stayed in Milan.”

Ronaldo, who didn’t visit Madrid’s training ground on Tuesday to bid farewell to his teammates, won’t be able to play for Milan in this season’s Champions League because he has already appeared for Madrid in the competition.

Ronaldo didn’t play his first match this season until October, following an operation on his left knee. Since then, he has scored one league goal in seven appearances, mostly as a substitute, and missed another month with a left knee injury.

”I know that Ronaldo is Milan’s,” Capello was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA. ”I wish him good luck, that he does what he used to be able to do — that is be a great player.”

Ronaldo joined Madrid in 2002, winning the Spanish league at the end of his first season, but no major trophies since.

The striker scored 82 goals in 120 Spanish league matches in his first four seasons. In the Champions League, he scored 13 times in 32 games — the kind of scoring numbers that Milan has lacked since selling Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea.

”[Ronaldo] is really up for it,” Galliani said. ”I hope he goes back to doing the Ronaldo thing, that is [being] a phenomenon.”

Milan strikers Alberto Gilardino, Filippo Inzaghi and Ricardo Oliveira have only managed 11 goals between them in the league.

”Real Madrid would like to transmit their recognition of what this singular player has contributed over this time. Moments of great soccer that Madrid fans will never forget,” Madrid said on its website.

”One hundred and four goals in the white shirt and his record describes him perfectly as one of the best players to have worn our number nine on his back. Now, at the time of his farewell, Real Madrid would like to reiterate its gratitude, wish him every sporting success and above all personal happiness. Thanks Ronaldo, and Good Luck.”

At the World Cup in Germany, Ronaldo’s three goals gave him 15 for his career, one more than Germany’s Gerd Mueller.

Ronaldo’s departure marks the end of Madrid’s project of signing the world’s best players — who earned the nickname ”Galacticos.” Luis Figo left for Inter Milan in 2005, Zinedine Zidane has retired and David Beckham will be leaving for Los Angeles Galaxy after the season.

While the policy helped Madrid financially, it proved a flop on the field as the powerhouse team failed to win a major trophy since 2003 — its worst drought since the early 1950s. — Sapa-AP