Sulaiman Al-Fahim planning £134m January bid for Cristiano Ronaldo
From Times Online
September 2, 2008
Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the businessman behind the takeover of Manchester City, says he is prepared to make a £134 million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo during the January transfer window.
City wasted no time flexing their newfound financial muscle yesterday, outbidding Chelsea with a British record offer of £34.2m to sign Robinho, but it seems they are now prepared to risk the wrath of their city rivals by attempting to sign Manchester United's most coveted player when the transfer window reopens.
“Ronaldo has said he wants to play for the biggest club in the world, so we will see in January if he is serious,” Al-Fahim said.
“Real Madrid were estimating his value at 0m (£89m) but for a player like that, to actually get him, will cost a lot more, I would think 0m (£134m). But why not? We are going to be the biggest club in the world, bigger than both Real Madrid and Manchester United.”
With the due-diligence process expected to be completed by the end of the week, Al-Fahim's Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) will become the majority shareholders of the club and Al-Fahim has already said he would not hesitate to spend £200 million next summer if it was deemed necessary.
Al-Fahim has drawn comparisons between himself and Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, insisting that he aims to replicate the Russian tycoon's impact on the Premier League.
"We would like to see Manchester City fighting for trophies in every tournament," Al-Fahim said. “We are looking to make the same kind of impact at Manchester City that has happened at Chelsea."
"We don't just want Manchester City to be challenging for trophies in England, but also in the Champions League. We want them to be in for every trophy available."
Al Fahim has already charged Hughes with the task of qualifying for next season's Champions League and the new owners expect this term to be a vast improvement on last season's ninth place finish in the Premier League.
"A place in the Champions League is quite a jump from last season, but we are ready to sit down with the manager, find out the players he would like, and bring the right players into the club," Al-Fahim added.
"This season we would like to be a lot better than last season, and we are eager for trophies next season."
City face Chelsea at Eastlands in their next league match a week on Sunday and Al-Fahim says he hopes to attend that game, as he looks to finalise the details of the takeover.
"Our message to the fans would be we promise we are here to sustain the club and make Manchester City competitive for trophies at the highest level," Al-Fahim said. "We would also like to bring in extra revenues by introducing new marketing ideas.
"Looking at the club, they have a lot of fans, they are loyal fans, and there is the opportunity to grow there. They also have a lot of history. It was all very attractive to us. I think the one thing that has been missing was the right person to provide the right investment."
事实证明，伊斯兰教 很疯狂；石油 很强大
我车沦落到了欲做一暴发户而不可得的地步了，Robinho去的果然是世界上最大的俱乐部······