LONDON, 20 January 2004 — Manchester United confirmed yesterday they had agreed in principle to buy Fulham’s French striker Louis Saha for an undisclosed fee.
Fulham had announced the deal to sell Saha to the English champions in a statement on their website on Sunday.
United said the transfer, which comes after Fulham had rejected earlier approaches by the club, was “subject to a number of conditions”. “Manchester United expects these conditions to be resolved within the next week and will make a further announcement on completion,” United said in a statement to the stock exchange.
British newspapers reported that the deal for the 25-year-old forward was worth around 12 million pounds ($21.77 million). Fulham had been reluctant to part with Saha, who has scored 13 league goals this season, and turned down a bid, reportedly worth eight million pounds ($14.52 million), from United last month.
“This is my dream come true. I thought this would never happen but I’m so pleased it has,” Saha was quoted as saying in The Sun newspaper yesterday.
“Old Trafford is a lucky ground for me. It’s where I started in the Premiership and scored two goals. Fulham was a fantastic place but I cannot wait for the challenge of proving myself at the biggest club in the world.”
Ronaldo Confident of Honoring 35-Goal Promise
In Madrid, Ronaldo believes he is well on course to honor his preseason promise to score 35 goals this term after grabbing the equalizer in Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Real Betis on Saturday.
The goal, complete with his trademark stepover, brought his tally for the season to 20 in all competitions and his total since joining Real Madrid two years ago to 50.
“I hope to reach my promised total of 35 goals,” the 27-year-old Brazilian said. “I’ve now scored 50 goals since joining Real Madrid and that’s an important figure, but I now hope to go on and score another 50.”
But the former World Player of the Year said that he had not been happy with his team’s performance against a dominant Betis, who took the lead in the first half with a well taken volley from live-wire winger Joaquin.
