Those who suggest that Sir Alex Ferguson has pulled off another managerial piece of brilliance by selling Cristiano Ronaldo at "the right time" by comparing the previous sales of David Beckham, Roy Keane, and Paul Ince are wrong. Yes, it is true that Ronaldo's heart was no longer in Manchester, but the harsh reality is that Man Utd have lost [arguably] the greatest player in the club's history at the age of 24.
What the Ronaldo move represents is the masochistic grip that players have on their future, compared with 10, or 15 years ago. Ronaldo signed a new 5 year deal in 2007 with Man Utd, yet just two years later, has manipulated the media intriguingly [on both sides of the aisle] in order to gain his wish of a move to Madrid. 10 years ago, such a feat would have been nigh on impossible.
Losing the current Ballon D'or and FIFA World Player of the Year is nowhere to be found in the Fergie managerial manual
But, given the lack of loyalty shown in football today, and the gigantic television revenues and media scrutiny, Ronaldo was able to cleverly pull the wool over the eyes of Manchester United supporters whilst in the presence of Sir Alex Ferguson, nonetheless, the minute he left base camp and jetted off to the other side of the world - his tone and speech changed to favor a move across the channel - to Madrid.
Whether he was coached to do this by his numerous advisers and representatives; we don't know, but one thing is for certain. Sir Alex Ferguson did not want this deal to take place. Not for 80 million, not for 200 million. Losing the current Ballon D'or and FIFA World Player of the Year is nowhere to be found in the Fergie managerial manual.
Ronaldo's departure is very, very different; few would dare to suggest that Man Utd, minus Ronaldo, would have won those trophies with the relative ease and canter at which they did
And those who compare this move favorably, akin to the previous departures of other United legends like Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane, Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Dwight Yorke - and most importantly - David Beckham, are being foolhardy at best, and at worst, purely delusional. Each of those previous sales was engineered by Sir Alex himself. All players who were past their peak in their late 20s or early 30s, all of whom had become an unwanted piece of furniture in the United mansion marshaled by Ferguson. And most importantly, in Beckham and Dwight Yorke's case(s) - a poisonous celebrity lifestyle had merely hastened their departures and/or given Ferguson that much more joy in ushering their over-inflated egos towards the exit door at Old Trafford.
What Ferguson did last summer [persuading Ronaldo to "stay"] was unprecedented, he will most likely not repeat the feat for any other player
But the Ronaldo departure is very, very different. In the past two seasons, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a whopping 68 goals, contributed 17 assists, and helped United to win the Premier League (twice), the League Cup, the Champions League, and the World Club Championship. But statistics can be fickle [think of Arsene Wenger attempting to use the Goals Scored column to try and suggest Arsenal are nearly as good as Manchester United], in truth, Ronaldo's contribution to United is much like Carlos Tevez's efforts for West Ham in the 2006-2007 season in which his goals saved them. Ronaldo's goals have had the same effect for Manchester United. OK I do concede, in both cases, it would be false to suggest that West Ham and Manchester United were/are "one man team(s)", but nobody in their right mind could say that West Ham, minus Tevez, would have stayed up that year. Likewise, few would dare to suggest that Man Utd, minus Ronaldo, would have won those trophies with the relative ease and canter at which they did.
Let me just say I am by no means criticizing Sir Alex one iota. Quite the opposite, he was backed into a corner by both his player and the club desperate to sign him - due to the far reaching player power that exists today, Sir Alex had no choice but to cash in. Had Fergie repeated his fatherhood acts of last season and begged for Ronaldo to stay on for one more season, the price would have dropped dramatically. Then, wait another year, and you risk the possibility of Ronaldo "buying out" the remainder of his contract and then you lose him for absolutely nothing. More importantly, a saga this summer like last would have severely diminished Ferguson's and Man Utd's reputation. Why the hell do you have to convince someone to stay at Man Utd? What Ferguson did last summer was unprecedented, he will most likely not repeat the feat for any other player. But a man like Sir Alex is very rarely taken for a ride, and if he is, you can bet your life he won't make the same mistake twice. Old dogs like Sir Alex aren't very good at learning new tricks.
