We are worth hefty price tag: Kaka

July 12, 2009

Brazilian midfielder Kaka has said he believes he and Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo are worth the huge transfer fees which Spanish giants Real Madrid dished out for them last month.

“If Real Madrid have decided to pay so much money for us it is because we are worth it, isn’t it? Because we have shown it with our football in recent years,” he said in an interview published on Sunday in sports daily Marca.

“We are in a sport which pays these kinds of figures and within this sphere it could be that we are worth this investment,” the 27-year-old added.

Real signed Kaka from AC Milan for 65 million euros and paid a record fee of around 94 million euros to sign Ronaldo from Manchester United.

“In the case of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the most expensive player, he has shown that he’s number one and that he’s worth this money,” said Kaka.

Ronaldo, 24, has also said the astronomical sum paid by Real for him was worth it in recent press appearances and interviews in Spain.

But the hefty amounts paid for the two most recent winners of the FIFA World Player of the Year award have sparked controversy, with UEFA president Michel Platini calling the transfers “a serious challenge to the idea of fairplay”.

Business consultancy Weber Shandwick Sport has estimated that Real’s capture of Kaka alone could be worth 100 million dollars a season in additional revenues to the club in extra jersey sales, sponsorship revenues and match ticket sales.

Ronaldo will add a further 75 million dollars per season to Real’s turnover, according to the consultancy.

Real will face Deportivo de la Coruna at home on the weekend of August 29-30 in their first Spanish league match of the upcoming season.

MADRID (AFP)

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Real Madrid defend spending spree

July 4, 2009

MADRID (AFP) – Real 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 is the richest club in the world. It generates a lot of money and this is why it recruits first rate players,” he said after unveiling new defender Raul Albiol, who joined Real from Valencia for a reported fee of 15 million euros late Thursday.

Valdano made the comment when asked by reporters about the criticism by UEFA president Michel Platini over the more then 200 million euros which Real has shelled out for new talent.

Real paid 93 million euros to recruit Ronaldo, the 2008 FIFA World Footballer of the Year, from Manchester United and 65 million euros to secure Kaka, the FIFA World Footballer of the Year, from AC Milan.

In an interview published 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.

The club boosted revenues from t-shirts and other souvenirs after it began signing top players like France’s Zinedine Zidane and England’s David Beckham in 2000.

Real Madrid’s capture of Brazilian star Kaka could be worth 100 million dollars a season in additional revenues to the Spanish club, according to sports business consultancy Weber Shandwick Sport.