If Cristiano Ronaldo gets his own way and leaves the theatre of his current nightmares, the big question is: Just who will Sir Alex Ferguson tempt through the doors at Old Trafford?

Well, perhaps Dimitar Berbatov would be perfect. He wouldn't exactly be a replacement because they are very different players, but he would slip rather handsomely into the current Manchester United side. Like a slightly more silent and non-violent Eric Cantona, Ferguson would mould him into the team quite easily and tinker about with Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.

With players like that at your disposal, trying to tie them or bog them down with strategies and formations is pointless. Last season's United side were flexible, with Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez popping up all over the place. That was what made them different and that is why they won the league. Before anyone loses the plot, the miserly defence was quite excellent, too.

It really is a serious question now for United and the fans because after Sepp Blatter's classic intervention and Ronaldo’s predictable response, it seems that it's not just Real Madrid or Ronaldo himself who want the move. The Portuguese star is a slave now after all. I wonder how it feels to be a £100,000-a-week slave. Maybe Ronaldo would be kind enough to let us know how suicidal he really is over this awful situation he finds himself in.

If I was a Cockney red or a just a plain United fan, I certainly would not want to see him in the side next season if – and that’s a big if – he is forced to stay. Ferguson can say what he likes about leaving him on the bench but surely the Glazers would want to see Ronaldo playing in the side at every opportunity, given the fact that the slave is paid what he is.

It’s not going too well for Ferguson this summer. First, the Ronaldo affair, and now Carlos Queiroz is off to Portugal because Luiz Felipe Scolari went to Chelsea. Is there a bigger picture going on here that we don't know about? Paranoia? Surely not. English football is doing so well in European competition that surely the bigwigs at FIFA and UEFA can't be trying anything in their power to shift the favour back to the Italians and Spanish? It's a funny world.

Anyway, back to Berbatov. A superbly gifted player, he would surely flourish even more with the talent at Old Trafford around him. This is no criticism of Tottenham. Roman Pavlyuchenko has been mentioned as well, but Berbatov certainly has more credentials in terms of footballing talent. It is essential for Ferguson, in my humble opinion, to get the signature of the Bulgarian.

Ronaldo did have a sensational last season, but the amount of talent and experience at the club gave him the platform to do what he did. I don’t think Madrid will be a good move for him – if he thought that playing for Man Utd was a pressure cooker then the lifestyle, price-tag and expectation that will haunt him around the city of Madrid for the duration of his stay will be immense.

Herein lies the problem for Ronaldo – United will move on and he will be replaced with consummate ease, but I fear for the young man going in the opposite direction. And if it doesn't work out for him, where does he turn then?