Sir Bobby Charlton admits the £80 million that Real Madrid have agreed to pay for Cristiano Ronaldo is a ‘vulgar’ amount, but the Manchester United director believes the club will be better off for selling the reigning Fifa World Player of the Year.
Ronaldo is on the brink of a world record transfer to the Bernabeu after United finally relented and agreed to his wish of playing for the nine-time European champions.
The biggest deal of all time has generated huge debate due to the astronomical fees involved and Charlton, who played in an era when the world record hovered around the £500,000 mark, admits he has been bemused by Real’s offer.
But with United linked with the likes of Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery, Charlton fully expects Sir Alex Ferguson to compensate for the loss of his Portuguese forward.
"It's a lot of money, it's crazy really," said Charlton. "If you want to be in the race, you have to pay the price ... it seems sometimes a little bit vulgar.
"But nevertheless that is business, I'm afraid. We have responsibilities to our company and to all the fans that support Manchester United and it was decided that Ronaldo could go.
"But it's a little bit soul-searching, you never know if you've made the right decision until the start of the season.
"It's an enormous amount. We will make sure we will use it properly and our club will be better for it."
Ronaldo has enjoyed a tremendous six seasons at Old Trafford, becoming perhaps the finest player in the world thanks to Ferguson’s guidance, and Charlton feels the 24-year-old may come to regret his decision to leave Old Trafford.
"He is a great player," said Charlton. "He's been with us for five or six years and in that time he has improved beyond all recognition.
"I suppose, in time, he will reflect, and say, that the best time he ever had in football was when he was at Manchester United. It was better for him and it was fantastic for the club.
"But we have no divine rights, we talked him out of it for one year but he's gone and we move on.
"Ronaldo leaves us because as a young boy he always dreamt about playing for Real Madrid, so if he leaves us, it's with our blessing.”