The Sun-Herald

Cristiano Ronaldo's Unreal Madrid

It's official: the world has gone mad.

Amid economic doom and gloom, giants of industry declaring bankruptcy, billion dollar bail outs and many friends and colleagues losing their jobs (this includes the long-running Sick As A Parrot column axed after eight seasons), Spanish superclub Real Madrid will pay Manchester United over $200 million for the contract of Cristiano Ronaldo.

I first saw Ronaldo play live early on in his Manchester United career. It was a midweek game against local rivals Liverpool in 2004. The game was supposed to be about United defender Rio Ferdinand's comeback after a drugs suspension but it was Ronaldo who made headlines.

I had press accreditation for the game but recall telling a colleague after the match I'd have happily left my professional credentials at the gate and paid money to see this new guy play again. He was going to be something special.

Several years later, having won everything there is to win with United, Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid has stirred controversy on every level.

First, like a courting couple who exhaust friends with their will-they-won't-they romance, Ronaldo and Real Madrid can finally, to use a metaphor, get a room. This saga was one of the longest-running in recent memory, not helped by Ronaldo's own public statements that changed direction more than he changed wings.

Secondly, we now know to take any statement from anyone involved at the top level of football as complete rubbish except, ironically, maybe Real Madrid.

The player claimed he'd not be leaving United at the end of last season before chipping in with some ambiguity after United's Champions League defeat to Barcelona. United manager Alex Ferguson countered Ronaldo would not be going anywhere, brilliantly claiming he would not sell Real Madid "a virus".

Real Madrid, at least reelected President Florentino Perez, has claimed all along that Ronaldo would be a Madrid player and this was confirmed earlier this year by a story that appeared in The Guardian that claimed an agreement was made last year that Ronaldo would be paid £30 million if Madrid did NOT sign him.

Hold on - what?

So it turns out that Ronaldo is the subject of the most-expensive deal ever between football clubs and that's before we even try to comprehend his personal starting salary estimated to be over $25 million a year, rising by 25% each subsequent year of his six-year deal. That roughly equals $2 million a month or $500,000 a week.

Excuse me if a few zeroes are missing or the math is not exact. The point is, it's a lot of money. Maybe it's the frugal times elsewhere but it's so much money I feel a little sick. For some perspective, around four weeks of Ronaldo's wage equals the entire season's salaries for an entire A-League club.

"These figures are simply beyond the understanding of most ordinary fans," said British Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe. "I am worried that a small group of rich clubs are getting richer and that does affect the balance and the opportunities for the wider game."

The Ronaldo transfer reminds me of a story told to me by my friend Andy Bernal, a former Socceroo who among other adventures, was David Beckham's minder when he, like Ronaldo, moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid.

When the Portuguese youngster was announced as Beckham's replacement at Old Trafford, wife Posh Spice sat in Madrid pawing newspapers analysing the new recruit.

Apparently, she was unimpressed.

"Nah," she said in her Essex-inspired whine. "He's not in our league, is he?"

She was wrong but sort of right.

Morally objectionable or not (and there's plenty more to suggest that there's something deeply wrong with what's occurring), the facts are that Ronaldo and Real Madrid are out of, not just Beckham's league, but our universe.