Progression of the British football transfer fee record in 2001 was £38m. On 1 September 2008, Manchester City agreed a reported £32,500,000 fee for Robinho, which remained the record amount paid by a British club until 31 January 2011, when Liverpool paid £35,000,000 for Andy Carroll from Newcastle United, which was also a new record amount paid for a British player. A few hours later, the record amount paid by a British club was broken again when Chelsea paid £50,000,000 for Fernando Torres from Liverpool. On 11 June 2009, Manchester United announced that they had accepted an £80,000,000 bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo. The transfer was
2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season miss from Tim Cahill, Everton ran out 4–2 winners on penalties and United's quest for five trophies was at an end. The draw for the Third Round of the 2008–09 League Cup paired Manchester United with Middlesbrough. The match was played at Old Trafford on 23 September 2008, and resulted in a 3–1 win for the home side, who gave debuts to three young players;Ben Amos, Danny Welbeck and Manucho. In his first start for the club since returning from injury, Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 25th minute, heading home Ryan Giggs' corner. Adam Johnson equalised for Middlesbrough