Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his world record transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid by partying in Hollywood with glamor girl Paris Hilton, it was reported on Thursday.
Entertainment news Web site TMZ.com reported that Ronaldo and the socialite met at exclusive Los Angeles nightclub My House before later moving on to the home of Hilton’s sister Nicky in the early hours of Thursday.
TMZ posted a video that appeared to show Ronaldo leaving Nicky Hilton’s home at around 5am. Only hours earlier, Manchester United confirmed they had accepted a staggering £80 million (US$130 million) bid from Madrid for the 24-year-old Portuguese midfielder.
Ronaldo told British newspapers from Los Angeles that he can’t wait to complete his “historic” transfer.
He should undergo a medical with at Bernabeu in the next week and is expected to sign on a six-year contract worth a reported £9.5 million a year.
After several years of flirting with a move to Real, Ronaldo said it was the right moment to end his six-year spell at Old Trafford.
“I have had my time at Man United. It’s time to look forward and £80million is quite a sum of money. This deal is historic,” Ronaldo told reporters.
“Now I can look forward to Real Madrid and a new stage in my career. I learned of the deal here in LA and heard from my people that United had accepted,” he said.
While confirmation of Ronaldo’s proposed move came surprisingly early in the close-season, according to a report in England Real had already made a “gentleman’s agreement” to complete the transfer several months ago.
Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon insisted he brokered a deal to sign Ronaldo before leaving the club in January.
Calderon, who has since been replaced by Florentino Perez, told the Sun: “We were in touch with the player. That is the important thing to know now.”
“Let’s say it was a gentleman’s agreement in order not to bother Manchester last season, because [United manager Sir Alex] Ferguson also wanted to keep the player,” Calderon added.
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