Valdano defends cash-rich club’s signings of world class players
eal Madrid director general Jorge Valdano has defended his side’s spending spree on new players like Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, saying the cash-rich club can afford it
“Real Madrid are the richest club in the world. They generate a lot of money and this is why they recruit first rate players,” he said after unveiling new defender Raul Albiol, who joined Real from Valencia for a reported fee of ?15mil on Thursday.
Valdano made the comment when asked by reporters about the criticism by UEFA president Michel Platini over the more then ?200mil which Real has shelled out for new talent.
Real paid ?93mil to recruit Ronaldo, the 2008 FIFA World Footballer of the Year, from Manchester United and ?65mil to secure Kaka, the FIFA World Footballer of the Year, from AC Milan.
In an interview published on Thursday in French sports daily L’Equipe, Platini said the huge sums of money spent by clubs like Real in the transfer market was “not normal“.
Last month he said UEFA was planning action to put an end to football’s excesses.
“These transfers are a serious challenge to the idea of fairplay and the concept of financial balance in our competitions,” he said, adding the new set of rules being developed was UEFA’s “top priority today“.
Real is the world’s largest revenue-generating club in the world, ahead of Manchester United and Barcelona, according to an annual ranking compiled by business advisory firm Deloitte.