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There is no smoke without a fire. Amid the celebrations of Manchester United’s third Champions League success, rumors of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for the sunny climate of Madrid intensified. Could this be the fanatical English media at work, fanning the flames just to keep our interest, especially now that football season has ended, or there is an element of truth, serious enough for Alex Ferguson to consider a replacement in the near future?

The player himself refused to give a firm commitment on his future, lending credence to the speculations. The rumor mill went into overdrive when Ronaldo revealed, while picking up the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award, that he harbors ambitions to play in Spain.

United were quick to set the record straight by insisting that the decision is theirs to make, given that Ronaldo has four years remaining on a five-year contract worth £120,000 a week. David Gill, the chief executive, also announced that Ronaldo is not for sale and it makes “no sense” to sell him, even for a world-record fee in excess of £50 million.

Manchester United fans can be forgiven for feeling uncertain about the Portuguese’s future since a palpable shift in his tone. Where once it was an unequivocal stance of long-term commitment to the Premier League champions, Ronaldo has left a question mark by saying: “I would love to play in Spain, but it’s one thing to dream and another thing for it to be reality. I don’t know the club, but I know that they like my game. I am feeling calm and happy here, but in the future I don’t know.”

Indeed, it seems that Spain will make Ronaldo even happier. Real Madrid insiders had actually placed “Project Ronaldo” on the backburner until at least 2009, but the flirtatious comments by the man himself, his agent Jorge Mendes, and those close to him, were an encouragement that Madrid could yet snag their biggest prize in recent history.

Another crucial element in their favor was the link-up of Ronaldo with Nereida Gallardo, a model based in Spain. Apparently, the Portuguese is so smitten by Gallardo that he had showered her with expensive gifts and marriage is even in the pipeline. If both intend to settle down soon, Gallardo may prefer Ronaldo to choose a club closer to where she works. Ferguson will of course has something to say about that. The last time a player (Beckham) was “led astray” by his spouse, the parting of ways was bitter and even bloody.

For now, we cannot determine the effect of Gallardo on Ronaldo’s career but Ferguson is committed to keeping his prized asset by showing his sincerity. While basking in the glory of his second Champions League title, he made special mention that Ronaldo is a vital component of his plans for European domination. He said: “Real think they can ride roughshod over everyone, but they won’t do it with us. We only sold them Ruud van Nistelrooy and David Beckham because we wanted to.”

Real president Ramon Calderon said that United trying to hold on to Ronaldo against his will is akin to slavery. Spanish sports daily Marca claimed earlier this week that the winger has already expressed his wish to join Madrid, obliging United to hold transfer negotiations.

Ferguson immediately lambasted Calderon and Schuster for using the Spanish media to unsettle players. “You get used to the way Madrid perform in these things. Calderon makes that great statement that slavery was abolished many, many years ago. Did they tell Franco that? Give me a break.”

Obviously, he is less than impressed with the unwanted attention of Madrid and their heavy-handed tactics. He believes that Queiroz’s first-hand experience of life at the Bernabeu could prove decisive in keeping Ronaldo at Old Trafford. His torrid time of only ten months at Madrid is a reminder to Ronaldo that failing to settle in and abiding by the rules of certain players can have dire consequences.

Queiroz, a strong candidate to replace Ferguson should the latter retire has been largely credited as Ronaldo’s mentor since his return to Old Trafford in 2004, a year after the winger’s arrival from Sporting Lisbon. He is also expected to form a similar bond with fellow Portuguese Nani. His words will carry sufficient weight to give Ronaldo food for thought about moving on.

I believe that a new deal is definitely in the making, possibly a £150,000 a week contract. Ferguson promised earlier to increase Ronaldo’s wages should he better his previous goalscoring record. He is also aware that his youthful team is subject to temptations and in order to keep them together, United has to follow the market trend. Suppressing wages, as what Arsenal are attempting to do, will be futile.

He said: “It doesn’t matter which player it is, the ones you want to keep you have to work hard to keep. In the modern day, that is a fact. It’s not lost on Manchester United and it’s not lost on Real Madrid either. We will not be moving anyone out.”

Actually, I don’t blame Ronaldo for looking for fresh challenges. After all, in his five years at Old Trafford, Ronaldo has won a Champions League and 2 Premiership titles, and he may want to try his luck with other clubs. When a player is young and he feels he has the world at this feet, he believes that anything is possible.

Rio Ferdinand is a good case in point. In his youth, he distinguished himself as one of the premier defenders in the country and Manchester United broke the transfer record in order to sign him. Nevertheless, his ambitions were not satiated and he wanted a stint in Spain or Italy. Well, forward to four weeks ago, we saw him committing the remainder of his career to United by signing a new five-year contract. His salary is worth in excess of £100,000 a week and he is next in line to be United’s captain.

Ronaldo also need not look further than the unsuccessful migration of Thierry Henry to Barcelona. While at Arsenal, King Henry has everything, except a Champions League medal. He left the sanctuary which made him into a legend and enter the Nou Camp cauldron. Played out of position and being relegated to a runner than a main striker, he was clearly unhappy and his form, morale and confidence hit an all-time low. It is doubtful if he can be the same talismanic player, full of trickery and pace, even if he returns back to Emirates Stadium.

If Ronaldo thinks Manchester United cannot win without him, he is seriously wrong. United are in a position now where they can dominate their peers for years to come and those who remain can collect plenty of titles to become legends. His departure will only hasten the development of other talents like Nani and Anderson who are waiting impatiently in the wings. The smart thing for Ronaldo is to stay at United, at least until Sir Alex retires.

Can Ronaldo’s game survive in La Liga? In the first place, he still needs to improve in a few areas. For dead-ball situations, I believe Ronaldo is up there among the best with his composure, technique and accuracy but goals in open-play came at the expense of his assists. This season, he has become selfish and more interested in self-promotion but so long as the team is winning, nobody cares.

The story will be different if his goals dried up and he still persists in taking the chances at the expense of better positioned players. The team’s interests is sacrificed just to placate his vanity and thirst for individual glories. No manager will welcome such a player who has grown too big for his shoes, certainly not Alex Ferguson. Thus, Ronaldo cannot rest on his laurels and must work equally hard for himself and his team-mates if he wants to stay on top of his game.

Football is a collective effort and every member is important. In Ronaldo’s penalty miss against Chelsea at the Champions League finals, it shows that he is only human and if the other members of the squad did not pull their weight, the title is as good as lost. Being a dead-ball specialist and a potential Fifa Footballer of The Year winner, Ronaldo cannot shirk his responsiblity for having cold feet and being labelled as a failure at the big stage.

Real Madrid have developed a taste of collecting United’s discards after their signing of Beckham, Nistelrooy, and Heinze. Hopefully, Ronaldo doesn’t make himself so unwelcome that United puts him on the blacklist. Alex Ferguson is not a man of sentiment and if push comes to shove, he will be the first to show Ronaldo to the door. From a business point of view, the sale of Ronaldo will allow United to buy another striker and an attacking midfielder and still have a healthy surplus left. Their ability to challenge for titles on all front will be barely dented too.

It is clear that Madrid is more interested in Ronaldo for commercial reasons than to develop him as a world-class player. The improved entertainment on the pitch will increase gate receipts, broadcasting revenue and merchandise sales. Since the departure of David Beckham, their bottom line was affected and so is their diminishing worldwide appeal, despite winning La Liga twice in a row.

They are not interested whether Ronaldo’s style will fit into the current team. Ronaldo loves to flash his skills instead of making short, direct passes and this desire to hog the limelight may not be tolerated by the team. Especially Ruud van Nistelrooy who previously got into a scuffle with the Portuguese in a training session at Old Trafford over issues of showmanship and not feeding him enough passes.

Ronaldo is just starting on the road to greatness and if he leaves the guidance of Alex Ferguson to join other clubs, I am not sure if he will be able to fulfill his full potential. It will be better that he stays for the next few seasons at Old Trafford, until such time when he has matured not only in skills but also in his outlook that he ventures overboard. By then, he may be 27-28, still in his prime, and United fans should not begrudge his departure after serving the club dutifully for nearly ten years.

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