In an amazing development, Spanish banking group Bankia have used Real Madrid stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka as collateral in a bid to secure loans from the European Central Bank (ECB).
The Independent says Bankia is in a position to do this because it, in turn, has lent money to Real Madrid, which has offered its star players Ronaldo and Brazilian midfielder Kaka as security for the loan. Bankia helped finance Real Madrid's acquisition of the pair by loaning the club 76.5m (£67m), a substantial contribution to the 100m paid to Manchester United for Ronaldo, and the 60m it cost to extract Kaka from AC Milan.
The latest move opens the curious possibility that, if Real Madrid defaults in its repayments to Bankia, and the Spanish bank then defaults on its loan repayments to the ECB, the ECB in Frankfurt would be in possession of two-elevenths of one of the strongest teams in the world!
