It was inevitable that once Manchester United had won the Champions League title against Chelsea, the media would swarm around the players, making up transfer rumours and looking for any gossip while the team is hot in the press.

But there is no smoke without fire regarding Cristiano Ronaldo being a transfer target for Real Madrid and it's very rare that the Spanish giants don't get what they want. But would United really suffer that much if their star attacker moved to Spain? I think not.

Yes, it would be a big loss, but surely the team is made up of enough quality to cope? And anyway, Sir Alex Ferguson would simply spend the transfer fee wisely on another couple of top European stars for the start of next season. The other ten players on the pitch play just as important a part in the success of this United side.

'Ronaldo is often the subject of media frenzy and he fully deserves the praise. But ultimately United's success is down to the morale and quality of the entire side, not just one man'


Just look at their line-up week in, week out. With Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in defence and Edwin van der Sar between the sticks they have only conceded 22 Premier League goals all season. Just look at the heroics of the goalkeeper in the penalty shoot-out against Chelsea last Wednesday. I know Ronaldo does his bit when needed in defence, but he can hardly be praised for the season-long defensive statistics - and United's success is built around not conceding goals.

The number of clean sheets they achieve is often overshadowed by all the goals Ronaldo scores. If they win 2-0 and Ronaldo gets both goals, then Ferdinand, Vidic and Co. often miss out on the headlines and media attention, even though they have done an immaculate job.

Ronaldo also gets a lot of support from Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney, without whom the Portuguese wizard wouldn't have half the success he has had this season. Tevez has set up a fair number of Ronaldo's goals, while Rooney has been inspired up front and will be for some time to come. Remember, Ronaldo nearly cost United the European Cup with his penalty miss.

Ronaldo is often the subject of media frenzy and he fully deserves the praise. But ultimately United's success is down to the morale and quality of the entire side, not just one man. Lots of footballing fans see Ronaldo as arrogant on the pitch and I think this is warranted on some occassions. Maybe Ferguson should get rid of his star man and build a whole new midfield team as both Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are not spring chickens any more.

I think the transfer rumours will continue in the near future and Real may wait until they see their transfer target playing in Euro 2008 before they make a concrete offer for the Portuguese midfielder. However, by then his price tag may have risen even further.

Ferguson may have a battle on his hands to keep Ronaldo at Old Trafford, but either way his Manchester United squad is strong enough to cope with without him.