THE £80m transfer fee for Ronaldo’s imminent transfer to Real Madrid would keep a club of Accrington Stanley’s size in business for more than 50 years, according to their chief executive.
Ronaldo is due to make his long-awaited switch to Spain in the next few days after Manchester United yesterday accepted a fee of £80m for the Portuguese winger.
But such sums are a world apart from the hand to mouth existence of Stanley, who narrowly succeeding in staving off winding up proceedings this week over an unpaid £300,000 tax bill.
“We’re gutted about Ronaldo,” joked Accrington chief executive Rob Heys.
“We put our £79m bid in but they’ve come in and pipped us at the last minute.
“We’re a professional club in the same country but it’s a different world really.
“That sort of money would keep us going for 50 years at least.”
Former Blackburn striker Simon Garner added: “It is a joke, isn't it? I'll bet teams like Accrington Stanley are sick when they hear about clubs paying that sort of money for a footballer.
“You talk about MPs getting stick for their expenses, what about the money football players are getting. I dread to think what he is on - it has to be around £200,000 a week.”
Former Rovers boss Mark Hughes added: “Sir Alex Ferguson has made what he thinks is the right decision for the club and we have to respect that.”
Share