Roy Keane doesn’t dish out praise lightly - so the fact that he branded Cristiano Ronaldo’s then-world record transfer to Real Madrid as cheap speaks volumes of how highly he rated the Portuguese forward.
The Sky Sports pundit, 52, knows all about Ronaldo after playing alongside him at Manchester United. Keane was club captain when the youngster was snapped up in 2003 by Sir Alex Ferguson and had a front-row seat as he evolved into one of the all-time greats.
Six years later, Ronaldo was packing his bags after being seduced by the bright lights of Real Madrid, who parted with an astronomical £80million to secure the forward’s signature.
At the time, the game had never seen such figures change hands for a single player. But Keane, who by then had hung up his boots, felt that, if anything, the Spanish giants had got their man on the cheap.
"It’s just the way it is," Keane said when he was asked about the Ronaldo transfer. "People talk about Ronaldo going for £80 million – I look at other players and think Ronaldo’s cheap for £80 million. He’s the best player in the world. Footballers are classed as entertainers and if you look at any industry the top people get the top money."
Given how Ronaldo’s career at the Bernabeu played out in the years that followed, it’s hard to find a flaw with Keane’s points: the deal was certainly value for money for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo plundered a remarkable 450 goals across nine years in Spain, where he won two La Liga titles. He enjoyed far more success in Europe with Los Blancos winning the Champions League four times, including three consecutive triumphs between 2016 and 2018.
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Ronaldo won the Champions League four times after joining Real Madrid for £80million (Getty Images)In terms of personal accolades, Ronaldo has gone on to win five Ballon d’Or awards since transferring for that £80m sum back in 2009. He left the club in 2018 as their all-time leading goalscorer; a distinction he retains to this day.
After stints at Juventus and a brief return to Manchester United, Ronaldo embarked on a new chapter in his career in December 2022 by becoming the first high-profile player to move to Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo still plies his trade in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr and has seen a host of established names follow him to the Gulf State over the past 12 months.
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