Daylight Ribéry

On the morning of a crucial Champions League semi-final, The Guardian has led with a story about the potential transfer of Franck Ribéry to Manchester United for a club record £62.5m.

That a respected broadsheet was first to pick up on this story and has written such a bold piece, would lead one to believe that there is some substance to the tale.

It’s the sort of story that you will see every week in a tabloid, but The Guardian reports that sources at Bayern Munich admit to receiving a new offer for the player.

If there is indeed truth to the rumour, it is inevitable that there will be more speculation about Cristiano Ronaldo’s possible departure from the incumbent European champions, despite him being quoted only a few days ago as saying that he no longer wishes to move to an increasingly chaotic Real.

So let’s start with Cristiano. With Real in continuing decline, and after the mauling at the hands of their greatest rivals at the weekend, would the Portuguese really want to go to Madrid at this time?

It would come down to how big an ego you think this young man has. If he truly believes he can rescue that sinking ship single-handedly, then perhaps he might still leave in the summer. If Real Madrid did spend the requisite £70m to get Ronaldo, they would surely have little left in the kitty to address the other big problems in their team (their defending against Barcelona was catastrophic). So if it’s success that Cristiano still holds dearest, he will probably stay at United for another year or two.

So could it actually be that United plan to buy Ribéry and keep Ronaldo? Perhaps the Glazers have decided to reward Fergie for his years of remarkable service by giving him one final, extravagant gift? The chance to literally go and buy perhaps the best available player in the world for his swansong season, regardless of the cost? The final piece in the jigsaw, courtesy of an open cheque-book?

This may not be so outlandish, when you consider that Ribéry’s arrival could be at least part funded by departures of fringe players such as Nani, Darron Gibson, Frazier Campbell and Lee Martin. If Carlos Tévez also moves on, the books would be further balanced. A net outlay of about £35m is not far off what United would have to pay for Tévez anyway.

Overall, though, it does seem highly improbable that United’s corporate American owners would sanction such extravagance in times of severe global recession. If Ribéry were to arrive through Old Trafford’s doors, something big would surely have to give.

So: is Frank Ribéry really good enough to make the Scottish Sir part with such sums?