Ronaldo completes record Madrid switch

Real Madrid CF have completed the signing of Manchester United FC winger Cristiano Ronaldo for a world record £80m (€94m) with the Portuguese international signing a six-year contract.

July switch
A statement on the Madrid website said: "Real Madrid CF and Manchester United have signed the definitive agreement for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Spanish club on 1 July. The player will stay at Real Madrid for six seasons." The signing is the latest big-money transfer involving Madrid this summer after they signed Kaká for €68m from AC Milan and agreed a reported €15m deal with Valencia CF for the services of Spanish international defender Raúl Albiol on Thursday.

United honours
Ronaldo joined United from Sporting Clube de Portugal in the summer of 2003 and enjoyed sustained success during his time at Old Trafford. He scored in United's UEFA Champions League final triumph over Chelsea FC in 2008 and helped the club return to the showpiece in Rome last month where they lost to FC Barcelona. The Ballon d'Or winner last year, Ronaldo scored 118 times in 291 appearances for United and his 84 Premier League goals led the club to a hat-trick of titles between 2007 and 2009.

Pérez return
The €94m transfer fee for Ronaldo, who has been capped 65 times by Portugal, is the largest ever, eclipsing the €73m Madrid paid Juventus in 2001 for Zinédine Zidane. Ronaldo has long been linked with a move to Madrid who – following a disappointing season where rivals Barcelona claimed a UEFA Champions League, Liga and Copa del Rey treble – have moved quickly to strengthen their squad since the return of Florentino Pérez as club president. Manuel Pellegrini was installed as coach on 2 June with the deal on Kaká concluded within a week.