Ronaldo is now officially an AC Milan player. He said he was sad to leave Real Madrid after four and a half years. He also sent out his thanks to all the managers for his time at Real except for one. Ronaldo made it clear that he did not make the previously quoted statements that Real was hell and Capello was the devil.

Capello when asked about Ronaldo said he wishes him the best. In a survey at Marca 44% of voters said Real did well in offloading the striker and 56% believed it was a mistake.

There are good chances that Real may negotiate this week for Brazilian striker Oliviera who previously partnered up well with Joaquin at Real Betis and is now at Milan. He has not adapted well at Milan and a move to Real could be ideal for all parties involved.

Watching a Real Madrid match can be compared to an exercise in frustration for any Real Madrid fan. Real fell to Villarreal in the form of a single goal by Marcos. It’s the first victory ever over Real by Villarreal. Real continued to play poorly and showed little sign of danger during the whole match. The team seems incapable of scoring goals this season and we’ve just sold the only goal scorer capable of putting the ball in the back of the net.

Real Madrid could temporarly take over ‘el liderato’ of La Liga with a victory against Villarreal. Villarreal has been struggling this season, unable to extend lasts season’s success of reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. Riquelme has been left out of tonight’s match due to apparent poor training and problems with the coach and club. 

The Italian newspaper, La Stampa, quoted Ronaldo as saying, “Capello is a demon and Real Madrid was hell”. Ronaldo should be signing on Monday for a fiinal payout of €8 million to Madrid. According to Marca, Milan was also after the services of out of favor Michel Salgado but the right back prefers to stay at Real and fight for his place the squad.

Having been questioned about Beckham, Capello hinted that he may still play if he is in good form and has a good attitude.

Ronaldo trained normally this morning with Real Madrid although an agreement has already been reached with Milan and will be confirmed once Ronaldo passes the medical exam.

Milan is reportedly paying €7.5 million (according to Marca) for the services of, still considered by many, the best striker in the world.

Van Nistelrooy stated (in his imperfect but improving Spanish) that he believes Ronaldo is one of the best players in history and a wonderful person.

After signing disappointing Juventus duo Cannavaro and Emerson for 20 million Euros in July 2006, the club seemed to have stopped throwing money out the window. The Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’ disagrees. This morning they have published a story saying that Real Madrid have agreed to let Ronaldo go to Milan in exchange for 7,5 million Euros. Wow… the three times FIFA player of the year considered by many the best player in history is leaving the club for a fee so much smaller than the player’s real value. Well done Real Madrid, that’s what you should do if you want to lose thousands of fans. Disappointing results and the loss of Beckham wasn’t enough. We can only hope the article was untrue and Ronaldo is not leaving. A recent poll in the Spanish newspaper Marca revealed that the majority of Real Madrid fans (almost 70%) wanted Ronaldo to play more and thought Capello was doing a mistake by treating him in the way he does. Even some Real Madrid players think this is a mistake. Helguera has recently declared:

“I always ask respect for the players. Ronaldo, being fit, is one of the best in the world, if not the best. I do not believe that this is the right way to treat his situation. I also went through something similar. […] It is necessary to be true and respectful with the people who try to give everything, especially at a club of the greatness of Real Madrid. […]At the start of the season Capello did not trust me, but he realized his errors and now I am playing.”

Is The Phenomenon really leaving? We’ll know soon. If he really is, don’t be sad, actually he isn’t that good; he won few awards and honors during his career:

• FIFA World Player of the Year: 1996 (youngest winner), 1997, 2002
• World Soccer Player of the Year: 1996, 1997, 2002
• European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d’Or): 1997, 2002
• Onze d’Or: 1997, 2002
• UEFA Most Valuable Player - 1998
• European Golden Boot: 1997
• Copa América 1999: Top Scorer
• Spanish League Top Scorer: 1996-1997, 2003-2004
• Dutch League Top Scorer: 1994-1995
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality: 2002
• GoldenFoot Award: 2006
• FIFA World Cup
• All-Time World Cup Goalscorer - 15 Goals in 19 games in 3 World Cups
• 2006 Bronze Boot - Third highest scorer (tied) - 3 goals
• 2002 Golden Boot - Top scorer - 8 goals
• 2002 Silver Ball - Second best player
• 2002 Winner
• 1998 Golden Ball - Best player
• 1998 Silver Boot - Second highest scorer - 4 goals
• 1998 Runner-up
• 1994 Winner
• Brazilian Cup: Cruzeiro 1993
• Dutch Cup: PSV Eindhoven 1996
• Cup Winners’ Cup: FC Barcelona 1997
• Confederations Cup: 1997
• Copa América: 1997, 1999
• UEFA Cup: Internazionale 1998
• Intercontinental Cup: Real Madrid 2002
• European Super Cup: Real Madrid 2002
• La Liga - Primera División champions: Real Madrid 2002/2003
• Spanish Super Cup: FC Barcelona 1996, Real Madrid 2003

And do not forget that he was injured for long periods of time, one of them being 2 years in length.

Jonathan Woodgate, currently on loan at Middlesbrough, has not discarded a possible return to Real Madrid at the end of the season. After more than 2 years plagued with injury at Real he has finally managed an injury free season and is in good form. With a year left on his contract, he may be called back to the squad at the end of the season.

“It was a great opportunity for me, and it’s not completely gone. If I had been injury free those 2 years maybe I could have helped Real win titles. It’s a chapter in my life that is incomplete, but you never know.”

“You can go to Madrid and be sure of playinig in the Champions League every year, be near the top of the liga every year and win cups…, or in ‘Boro’ you can build up and eventually win something.”

“I’m not sure what will happen (at the end of the season), but I’m happy playing here. I’m also ambicious and want to win titles, but we’ll see what happens at the end of the season. It’s not necessary to think about it now. If I play well it will resolve itself.” 

Mijatovic says there’s no offer for Ronaldo on the table from Milan. All the negotiating has been done by the press. With only a week left in the winter transfer window it appears that Ronaldo is going to be stuck at Real Madrid.

Gago has been called up for international duty with Argentina for the first time. His quick settling and positive impact on Real must have impressed Alfio Basile, Argentina’s trainer.

Cristiano Ronaldo is rumored to be Real’s next signing objective at the end of the season.

Ronaldo spoke up at a fashion event in Paris stating that his future is far from Real Madrid because coach Fabio Capello does not want him.

Ronaldo said it was nice that Silvio Berlusconi and Carlo Ancelotti still appreciated him as a football player. “It’s nice to know people like that still care about me.”

Pedro Mijatovic has already stated that Ronaldo will not leave Madrid without a price and also mentioned that Beckham will finish his contract and it is up to Capello as to whether or not he plays.

Real turned in a poor sluggish performance, reverting back to the performance of the last 3 years. The only bright spot was a perfectly struck Reyes free kick just outside of the area that curled into the back of the net. The victory puts Real on top, tied for first place on points with Barca and Sevilla, but third on goal average. (Although Barca has a game in hand which they are playing this Wednesday against Real Betis.)

Capello now insists that Ronaldo is still a Real Madrid player although he has been again left out of the side for this weekend’s match at Mallorca. According to Capello, “He is still a Real Madrid player and we may still count on him depending what happens.”

 Raul sent a message in support of his out of favor teammates, Ronaldo and Beckham, saying that if they stay they should play.

Capello also mentioned that Real won’t be making any more purchases in the winter market.