When Sir Alex Ferguson accepted £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, the majority of United fans thought it was good business – even though you knew it would leave a very large hole in the team. Personally speaking, I wasn’t that fussed that United didn’t splash out on a marquee signing to replace him either; I could see that we had Nani waiting in the wings (no pun intended), and also Zoran Tosic. Both were Ronaldo’s understudies anyway. No need to buy, and no need to panic, then.
Six months on, and the first signs of doubt are creeping in. Sir Alex may have actually got this one wrong. Tosic’s really done nothing, and Nani continues to frustrate, flatter and deceive; it’s becoming painfully obvious that neither is going to replace Ronaldo in the long term.
But the plot thickens, as there’s been another revelation; had that £80m not come in, United would have posted a loss of £32m annual loss, and it’s obvious that these sort of figures are just not sustainable. If this continues, we will surely see more quality players heading for the exit to balance the books. The question now is: ‘Who’s next ?’. Wayne Rooney ?; it’s already rumoured that Barcelona and Real Madrid want him, and both seem to have the financial clout to make a bid that United would realistically consider.
Could it happen ? I doubt it at the moment, as Rooney doesn’t seem to want to go anywhere else. But he might do if United start to lose more star players. And if that happens, it’s game over. United will have to rebuild, and the debt which appears to be dragging the club down, could eventually drown it. All manner of scenarios could unfold, and depending on how the Glazer’s play it, they could end up leaving the club a mere shell of its former self. If the debt cannot be reduced, it will simply not be possible to carry on paying multi-million pound wage bills and transfer fees. Perhaps the signings of Obertan and Owen are more significant than were first thought; maybe they’re the first signs that United really is cutting its cloth, and that the balance of power is shifting across to the blue side of town!
The real kick in the teeth, though, would be Rooney doing a Tevez, and joining the City revolution; picking Eastlands over the Bernabeu or Camp Neu…
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