Selling Ronaldo was key to title victory - Real president

MADRID, July 8 (Reuters) Offloading Ronaldo to AC Milan was one of the chief reasons why Real Madrid ended up winning the Spanish title, according to club president Ramon Calderon.

''It was vital that we recovered the habit of hard work and sacrifice and he (Ronaldo) didn't collaborate,'' Calderon told Spanish daily El Pais in an interview today.

''I've enjoyed watching him, but we had to change the atmosphere in the dressing room and he wasn't helping.'' Asked how much the decision to sell the Brazilian striker influenced Real's victory in the title race, Calderon replied: ''A lot''.

Real sold Ronaldo to Milan for 10.20 million dollars in January this year when they were in third spot in the Primera Liga, four points behind leaders Barcelona.

The nine-times European champions mounted a strong comeback in the second half of the season, pipping Barcelona to the title by virtue of their better record in head-to-head matches.

Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello, who was reported to have been the driving force behind the decision to offload Ronaldo, was sacked 11 days after steering the club to their first league title in four years.

REUTERS BJR VV1605