Fabio Capello ‘told then-AC Milan chief Silvio Berlusconi NOT to sign Ronaldo from Real Madrid in 2007’ while still in charge at Los Blancos… …but the San Siro supremo took on the ‘problematic’ star anyway

Fabio Capello has revealed he told AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi not to sign Ronaldo from Real Madrid in 2007 – when he managed Los Blancos. 

The Italian grandmaster had previously managed the San Siro outfit and says he warned Berlusconi about his own player’s character. 

Ronaldo played under Capello at the Santiago Bernabeu for six months before Berlusconi signed him in January 2007 for £6.5million, having ignored the manager’s warning. 

While Capello has previously described Ronaldo as the ‘greatest talent’ he has ever coached, the two had a fractious relationship that led to dressing room fissures. 

‘I owe everything to him, but I advised him against it. I told him that he partied, that he was always surrounded by women,’ Capello told a group of Milanese university students according to Il Messagero. 

The then-Real Madrid boss endured a troubled relationship with the Brazilian star 

‘The next day in the newspaper the headline was: “Ronaldo at Milan”‘.

Ronaldo and Capello’s relationship had been on the rocks ever since the manager criticised his star for being overweight. 

Capello said: ‘I told him to go on a diet, he tried everything, but he ended up weighing 92 and a half kilos.’ 

Having signed for the Spanish giants after the 2002 World Cup, he went on to win La Liga and cement his reputation as one of the world’s foremost talents.

However, after a century of goals in the Spanish capital across the prior four years, he managed just four in 13 appearances in his final half-season there. 

Upon leaving Madrid, the Brazilian said: ‘I would like to thank the fans who’ve supported me all the time and thank all the team-mates that I’ve had here and all the coaches I’ve had – except one,’ he said.

‘It’s sad because I’ve been here four-and-a-half years, but now I’ve got another important challenge in my life and that is to succeed in Milan.

Berlusconi did not heed his advice and bought Ronaldo for Carlo Ancelotti for £6.5million

Ronaldo only lasted a season and a half at the San Siro and never captured his stellar ability 

Capello felt Ronaldo was ‘very fond of women and parties’ and criticised him for being overweight at Madrid

‘It breaks your heart, but that’s life. It is a shame. I never had any problems with the coach, but he didn’t want me and as I’m a professional I wanted to carry on playing and so we looked for another solution.’

Capello, a disciplinarian, has previously described how Ronaldo lived a hedonistic lifestyle and that Ruud van Nistelrooy raised concerns about the dressing room smelling of alcohol. 

The forward of mythical reputation only lasted one and a half seasons at the San Siro and his final campaign there was abruptly ruined by a kneecap ligament injury. He left in 2008. 

Meanwhile, despite winning the league in his only season (2006/07), Capello was sacked by Madrid due to his conservative style of play.