12/08/2003

Man Utd sign Ronaldo, but not the Real one

Manchester United today completed the signings of Portugese teenage sensation Ronaldo and Brazilian World Cup finalist Kleberson for a combined fee of £18 million.

Ronaldo - full name Christiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro - arrives from Sporting Lisbon for a £12 million fee following glowing reports from Manchester United players to manager Alex Ferguson after they faced the young star in last week's 3-1 friendly defeat against the Portugese club.

Ferguson said: "We have been negotiating for Christiano for quite some time, but the interest in him from other clubs accelerated in the last few weeks so we had to move quickly to get him.

"He is an extremely talented footballer, a two-footed attacker who can play anywhere up front - right, left or through the middle. After we played Sporting last week the lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly, and on the plane back from the game they urged me to sign him – that’s how highly they rated him.

"He is one of the most exciting young players I’ve ever seen.”

As for Brazilian midfielder, Kleberson, he arrives at Old Trafford from Athletico Paranaense. The 24-year-old featured in five of Brazil's matches at last years World Cup, including the final, and was described by national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as "one of the best players in Brazil right now".

Kleberson is the first Brazilian to sign for the Manchester club and will replace the recently departed Juan Sebastian Veron.

(MB)

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