Manchester United have moved to strenghten their squad ahead of the start of the new Premiership season by signing Portuguese teenager Cristiano Ronaldo along with Brazilian World Cup winner Kleberson. Both players have signed five-year contracts and join the club for a combined £18.17million.
Ronaldo joins the Old Trafford club from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon for a massive £12.24million and said: "I am very happy to be signing for the best team in the world, and especially proud to be the first Portuguese player to join Manchester United. I look forward to helping the team achieve even more success in the years to come."
The 18-year-old impressed for Portugal at the European Under-19 Championships in Liechtenstein and Chelsea were also reported to be interested in the player, but they have been beaten to the punch by United. The Red Devils have confirmed that Ronaldo will wear the number seven shirt vacated by David Beckham.
Meanwhile, Kleberson has become the first ever Brazilian player to sign for Manchester United following his move from Atletico Paranaense and manager Alex Ferguson is delighted to have landed the player. The United boss said: "We're delighted Kleberson is joining us because we've been chasing him for quite a few months."
"He played in the World Cup final for Brazil, and his then coach Phil Scolari said he was first choice every time in the team. The new Brazilian coach Parreira says the same. He is a young, athletic midfield player who can play in a number of positions. One of the reasons we sold Seba Veron was because we knew we were getting Kleberson - that shows how highly we regard his talent," Ferguson added.
Kleberson and Ronaldo have followed David Bellion, Tim Howard and Eric Djemba-Djemba into Old Trafford after Ferguson sold Beckham to Real Madrid for £25million and Veron to Chelsea for £15million, but missed out on getting Ronaldinho and Harry Kewell.
Filed by Rob Wright
