Cristiano Ronaldo is a frighteningly complete package. He is irreplaceable
Fans will shed few tears over Cristiano Ronaldo's sale. But that does not mean they will not be acutely aware of the damaging implications for Manchester United
So Sir Alex Ferguson has sold Real Madrid a virus after all. That will be the feeling of those who have long since advocated the sale of a player who, for all palpable footballing ability, had apparently begun to contaminate the Old Trafford dressing room with his monstrous ego.
While this perception would barely be disputed by even Cristiano Ronaldo's strongest advocates, so tiresome were his antics last season, the fact remains that his ego stems in part from his own knowledge that he is entirely irreplaceable. That Manchester United will receive an ostensibly preposterous £80m for his services is almost irrelevant: at the apex of any creative pursuit, the asset is almost always more valuable than the money.
Ronaldo is a freak of a footballer, physically but also statistically. This is a wide forward who scores goals at the rate of a centre forward: 23 in 2006-07, 42 in 2007-08 and 26 last season, even though he was clearly below his best until the scent of glory invigorated him in April and May. Chuck in his unquantifiable ability as a matchwinner, whose frenzied desire for victory can make the other 21 players on the pitch seem almost superfluous, and you have a frighteningly complete package. No matter how Sir Alex Ferguson spends the money - and assumptions of Franck Ribéry joining will be widespread, along with Luis Antonio Valencia - he will struggle to find a wide player who scores over 20 goals a season. In his current squad, with only Park Ji-sung, Nani and Zoran Tosic to choose from, he will struggle to find a wide player who scores five a season.
Supporters will, you suspect, will shed few tears: Ronaldo had none of the emotional ties they shared with the likes of Eric Cantona and Roy Keane. But that does not mean they will not be acutely aware of the damaging implications for the team.
United were already struggling for goals: their total of 68 last season was the lowest with which they have won a Premier League title since 1992-93, and the loss of Ronaldo means that an already fairly pedestrian attacking unit has a disconcerting lack of pace and directness. That, to an extent, ties in with Ferguson's new obsession with technique and concentration, and perhaps this will lead to a productive prioritising of Wayne Rooney, who has advertised his claims to be the side's focal point so splendidly with England all season. Yet the suspicion remains that, for all Rooney's abundant qualities, the sale of the club colleague with whom he had the most obvious telepathy will simply place greater pressure on the real USP of this side: the centre-back pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
It would be premature to damn Ferguson for the sale, particularly given the stunning success of an even more controversial triple-sale in 1995, but this is the first time he has sold a truly world-class player in his prime. It is thus interesting to reflect on Ferguson's motives. Perhaps he simply tired of the antics, and felt Ronaldo's tantrum against Manchester City and then his unnecessary and risible criticism of Ferguson's tactics in Rome represented the final straw. Perhaps Ronaldo had lost the dressing-room. Perhaps he felt Rooney could wait no longer. Perhaps the money was simply irresistible.
Or perhaps this deal had been in place since last summer, with many feeling that Ferguson agreed to grant Ronaldo his dream move provided he gave him one more year while Ferguson attempted to remould the side with a view to his departure. That would explain why he switched from the 4-3-3 of 2007-08 to the 4-2-3-1 that predominated for most of 2008-09. Such a switch meant Ronaldo playing as a wide midfielder rather than a wide forward, yet he still put more goals on the table than anybody else.
Goals are the defining currency of the sport. It's hard to work out a precise exchange rate these days, but 91 goals in three seasons seems a fair trade, even at £80m.
Fans will shed few tears over Cristiano Ronaldo's sale. But that does not mean they will not be acutely aware of the damaging implications for Manchester United
So Sir Alex Ferguson has sold Real Madrid a virus after all. That will be the feeling of those who have long since advocated the sale of a player who, for all palpable footballing ability, had apparently begun to contaminate the Old Trafford dressing room with his monstrous ego.
While this perception would barely be disputed by even Cristiano Ronaldo's strongest advocates, so tiresome were his antics last season, the fact remains that his ego stems in part from his own knowledge that he is entirely irreplaceable. That Manchester United will receive an ostensibly preposterous £80m for his services is almost irrelevant: at the apex of any creative pursuit, the asset is almost always more valuable than the money.
Ronaldo is a freak of a footballer, physically but also statistically. This is a wide forward who scores goals at the rate of a centre forward: 23 in 2006-07, 42 in 2007-08 and 26 last season, even though he was clearly below his best until the scent of glory invigorated him in April and May. Chuck in his unquantifiable ability as a matchwinner, whose frenzied desire for victory can make the other 21 players on the pitch seem almost superfluous, and you have a frighteningly complete package. No matter how Sir Alex Ferguson spends the money - and assumptions of Franck Ribéry joining will be widespread, along with Luis Antonio Valencia - he will struggle to find a wide player who scores over 20 goals a season. In his current squad, with only Park Ji-sung, Nani and Zoran Tosic to choose from, he will struggle to find a wide player who scores five a season.
Supporters will, you suspect, will shed few tears: Ronaldo had none of the emotional ties they shared with the likes of Eric Cantona and Roy Keane. But that does not mean they will not be acutely aware of the damaging implications for the team.
United were already struggling for goals: their total of 68 last season was the lowest with which they have won a Premier League title since 1992-93, and the loss of Ronaldo means that an already fairly pedestrian attacking unit has a disconcerting lack of pace and directness. That, to an extent, ties in with Ferguson's new obsession with technique and concentration, and perhaps this will lead to a productive prioritising of Wayne Rooney, who has advertised his claims to be the side's focal point so splendidly with England all season. Yet the suspicion remains that, for all Rooney's abundant qualities, the sale of the club colleague with whom he had the most obvious telepathy will simply place greater pressure on the real USP of this side: the centre-back pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
It would be premature to damn Ferguson for the sale, particularly given the stunning success of an even more controversial triple-sale in 1995, but this is the first time he has sold a truly world-class player in his prime. It is thus interesting to reflect on Ferguson's motives. Perhaps he simply tired of the antics, and felt Ronaldo's tantrum against Manchester City and then his unnecessary and risible criticism of Ferguson's tactics in Rome represented the final straw. Perhaps Ronaldo had lost the dressing-room. Perhaps he felt Rooney could wait no longer. Perhaps the money was simply irresistible.
Or perhaps this deal had been in place since last summer, with many feeling that Ferguson agreed to grant Ronaldo his dream move provided he gave him one more year while Ferguson attempted to remould the side with a view to his departure. That would explain why he switched from the 4-3-3 of 2007-08 to the 4-2-3-1 that predominated for most of 2008-09. Such a switch meant Ronaldo playing as a wide midfielder rather than a wide forward, yet he still put more goals on the table than anybody else.
Goals are the defining currency of the sport. It's hard to work out a precise exchange rate these days, but 91 goals in three seasons seems a fair trade, even at £80m.
Do you not edit the current version according to transfers? 
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