Florentino Pérez believes Cristiano Ronaldo can be a money-making machine for Real Madrid, just as they did those of David Beckham.
Pérez, who will be the club's new president again tomorrow, took Beckham to Spain in 2003 and made the Madrid giants the richest club in the world.
He now believes that a similar move for Manchester United superstar Ronaldo will get the cash tills ringing again.
"We have to make up for lost time," Pérez said in The Sunday Times.
"In the previous time, we established a model which allowed us to pay off our debts and raise our income, and we did it by investing in great players. They brought money in, the model worked.
"When Beckham came we went from earning €7 million a year to €45 million a year through deals with our sponsors. We rescued the finances of the club.
"What happened in the last few years is that the club did not reinvest in the type of players to continue with that model. I want to put that right.
"If Cristiano Ronaldo comes in, we would have a Nike-endorsed player putting on an adidas shirt every week."
He added: "There are certain players who are very profitable because they have spectacular commercial repercussions that earn the club money.
"We once earned €15 million for playing two matches in Japan. That would not happen in the current climate, but they did it then because we had (Luís) Figo, (Zinedine) Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham.
"I won’t suggest that Beckham did not have to leave in 2007 or that Zidane did not have to in 2006, but we should then have brought in Kaká and Ronaldo."
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Pérez, who will be the club's new president again tomorrow, took Beckham to Spain in 2003 and made the Madrid giants the richest club in the world.
He now believes that a similar move for Manchester United superstar Ronaldo will get the cash tills ringing again.
"We have to make up for lost time," Pérez said in The Sunday Times.
"In the previous time, we established a model which allowed us to pay off our debts and raise our income, and we did it by investing in great players. They brought money in, the model worked.
"When Beckham came we went from earning €7 million a year to €45 million a year through deals with our sponsors. We rescued the finances of the club.
"What happened in the last few years is that the club did not reinvest in the type of players to continue with that model. I want to put that right.
"If Cristiano Ronaldo comes in, we would have a Nike-endorsed player putting on an adidas shirt every week."
He added: "There are certain players who are very profitable because they have spectacular commercial repercussions that earn the club money.
"We once earned €15 million for playing two matches in Japan. That would not happen in the current climate, but they did it then because we had (Luís) Figo, (Zinedine) Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham.
"I won’t suggest that Beckham did not have to leave in 2007 or that Zidane did not have to in 2006, but we should then have brought in Kaká and Ronaldo."
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