Ewan Macdonald explains why, while Real Madrid are quite right to aim high, attempting to land a near-impossible transfer target could do more harm than good...
The galactico era is over, but that's no reason why Real Madrid shouldn't be on the lookout for top-class players. Despite a lack of European success over the last two years, the Merengues remain one of the continent's biggest clubs, and their domestic dominance has only increased this season. With high wages, high attendances, and continental football all but guaranteed every year, relatively few players would turn down the chance to go to the Bernabéu.
Few clubs, too, would resist the prospect of sporting director Pedja Mijatovic showing up at their doorstep with a big bag of loot and a shrewd smile. But there are some that would, and one of them is Manchester United.
That's what makes it all the more incredible that both Real Madrid and the pro-Madrid media have gone to perhaps the world's most untouchable club, and targeted one of the world's most untouchable players.
For while Ronaldo may have dreams of Madrid and a desire to play in Spain one day, all indications are that that day is not today, and that it won't be coming this summer. The papers and Real Madrid, though, seem unwilling to accept that.
Paper Talk
Let's start with the media. First of all, let's get one thing clear: Marca is not Real Madrid, and Real Madrid is not Marca. While the two are indeed linked, and have been for decades, they each have enough autonomy to be considered both separate, and sometimes even rivals. Indeed, it's been well less than a year since the paper had a highly public (and undignified, and hilarious) feud with Calderón, and while the two have kissed and made up since then, it can't have helped but leave a scar.
So, Marca's page-fillers are just that: Marca's. Much of what reaches their print run might not have eminated from the corridors of power at the Bernabéu - even that which did was presumably not meant for public consumption.
But here's the kicker: some of it might have come from Madrid. There is no doubting that a club as massive and media-savvy as the Merengunes will use a paper of Marca's circulation and influence from time to time.
Not only that, but even when Marca might have overstepped the boundaries, Calderón and his men did nothing to stop them. OK, you might say, it would be unseemly and unwise for them to make an enemy of the paper yet again. But they didn't just grin and bear it: they actively courted it. Calderón has appeared in the media saying that United cannot stop Ronaldo from leaving if he so chooses; he then emerged with a "who, me?" tone in his voice to say that he couldn't understand Alex Ferguson's disgust at his conduct.
So even though Marca may well be acting alone for the most part, there is no doubting that Real Madrid are also enjoying the chance to make their feelings on Ronaldo known.
This, to me, is idiotic.
The Bad Old Days
By throwing all their eggs in the Ronaldo basket, the board are committing a number of cardinal sins.
First, they run the risk of disappointing the fans. Presidential bravado in Spain is nothing new - indeed, it's par for the course - but this is reaching hysterical levels. Calderón needn't have implied that Madrid can lord it up over United at Ronaldo's bidding: now that he has, he can't blame the media for raising expectations when he's done the same. (The idea that he has deliberately courted controversy in order to avoid increasing criticism from high-ranking Madrid socios, by the way, is not unbelievable.)
And then there's Robinho. Yes, he was a bit-part player towards the end of the season, and rumours abound of his indiscipline. But let's not remember that he's a great option on the left - as is Arjen Robben! - that Madrid have sitting in their locker room. Yes, he's currently playing hardball over a new contract, or perhaps a transfer to England, but can we regard this as a chicken-egg situation? Are the club going for Ronaldo because Robinho's misfiring and wanting to cause problems over his contract, or is it the other way around? You tell me which is more likely.
In any case, the club were all too happy to milk the plaudits last winter when Robinho was hitting world's-best form, but now he's all but forgotten. Surely it would behoove them to solve his disciplinary problems and keep him on the up-and-up - we could argue all day as to whether or not he's "better" than Ronaldo but there is no doubting that he is gifted, young, and worth sticking with.
And, finally, they're looking increasingly Pérezian - that is to say, they are infatuated by a geuine, bona-fide galactico at the expense of other options. Were these days not supposed to be over? Were the Zidanes and Pavones not shipped out in favour of, say, Ramoses and Robinhos? What happened to nurturing young talent and moulding them into Madrid men - the next big things - rather than splashing out on the current bid thing? As I said at the start, there's nothing wrong with a couple of big transfers - quite the opposite - but to so determinedly focus on the golden boy of football is misguided.
Bitter Fruit
Essentially, it seems that Madrid are staking an awful lot on, what, a 10% chance of success? Yeah, Ronaldo might well tell United in two weeks' time that he feels that he's peaked at Old Trafford and now he wants a new challenge. United may acquiesce and agree a record-breaking price with Madrid. Ronaldo will fly in to Barajas for a tickertape reception before being whisked away (in an Audi, natch) for a gala unveiling - with Calderón front and centre, of course.
Maybe. Far more likely is that we endure more weeks of fist-gnawingly feeble posturing from both sides, Ronaldo fuelling the fires in interviews, and ultimately a whole not of nothing except a very annoyed Robinho and a confused fanbase. The only winners are the Spanish newspapermen!
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