Ronaldo deal reaps rewards with record shirt sales

Real Madrid have already begun to recoup their 45 million Euro ($44.87 million) investment for Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo with record sales of the number 11 shirt bearing his name.

The first official Ronaldo shirts, costing 72 euros ($71.78) a time, went on display at club outlets at exactly the same time as the player's presentation to the media on Monday and staff say they sold the first one just 10 seconds later.

"We didn't even have time to put them on the hangers," said sales chief David Tello.

"From first thing in the morning people were asking when the shirt was going to be put on sale and we had to give out tickets so they could reserve their place in the queue."

He added that sales peaked after Real's opening league victory against Espanyol on Monday, a game which Ronaldo -- who joined from Italian Serie A club Inter Milan just before the transfer deadline -- watched from the stands.

"I don't know if the brilliant performance of (Real) helped, but the next day we sold more than 3,000 shirts," Tello said, adding that they had also been inundated with orders from across the globe.

Real president Florentino Perez has admitted that the decision to buy Ronaldo from Inter was partly motivated by the new marketing opportunities that he would bring to the club.

"The mixture of Real Madrid and Ronaldo is perfect because of the universal appeal that both possess," said Perez during the player's presentation.