Will he, won't he? Staying or going? Manchester or Madrid?

The Cristiano Ronaldo transfer tug-of-war has been dominating the sporting headlines for weeks now, and with the nimble-footed Portuguese winger dancing around the journalist questions like he dances round defenders, it's sure to roll on until such time as the matter is resolved.

Now, with Sir Alex Ferguson determined to hang on to his star player and Ramon Calderon's relentless pursuit of the player proving that he is equally determined to prise Ronaldo from Fergie's grip, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the resolution of this matter won't be coming any time soon.....or will it?

The battle of wills between two of European football's biggest power-houses will not draw to a conclusion any time soon; both clubs are too proud to concede any ground and admit defeat in the ongoing saga, with both parties generally accustomed to getting their own way.

Nor will the player's undisguised declaration of his intent to join the side he has dreamt of playing for since he was a child, do anything to loosen Manchester United's grip on their free-scoring talisman.

So where do you go from here? Calderon tried to play the saga to Madrid's advantage when he stated in a recent interview that he felt honoured that Ronaldo stated he had dreamed of one day playing for the Spanish giants.

He went on to say that he takes pride when clubs show interest in one of his players and offer huge amounts of money for them, before going on to list a number of factors to be taken into consideration when potentially moving clubs.

Money, happiness, success and lifestyle all a play a part in that decision and he summed it up by saying that if a player does not have all these factors in place, then he will be unhappy and you should allow him to spread his wings in pursuit of finding happiness. So in essence trying to paint Manchester United and Sir Alex in a bad light by denying Ronaldo his dream.

Ferguson could argue that at present Manchester United are more successful that Real Madrid, and with all the success they have encountered recently Ronaldo should be happy to stay. So that's two boxes ticked for United.

Lifestyle? Other than the weather I can't see how being a handsomely paid footballer with plenty of free time on his hands can be all that bad. Things could be worse, of course. He could have to work for eight to 10 hours a day in a factory earning a pittance.

So that leaves money. I cannot imagine he is short of a bob or two at United, but when someone offers to double your wages for doing what you already do so well, it's going to turn your head. So it would seem that greed is the catalyst in this situation.