Ronaldo's leaving?

"I want to play for Real Madrid, but only if it is true they are eager to pay me and Manchester United what they have been saying they will. However, it does not depend on me."

- Cristano Ronaldo, about the only transfer rumour that has legs

I'm not going to talk much about Adebayor going to Milan for 32 million. That's just stupid. He's not worth that much. Milan aren't that rich. And Arsene Wenger's too stubborn to sell a guy for a vastly inflated fee - he'd rather they run down their contract and go on a Bosman.

The Cristano Ronaldo deal makes my head hurt. 78 million is a lot of money. 200,000 pounds a week is a lot of money. I'm flabbergasted that any club is rolling around in that amount of cash. I'm not even sure what you would buy with 200,000 a week. I'd probably do my grocery shopping at a gourmet grocer and then put the rest in the bank. I might even indulge in a new pair of ugg boots. But otherwise, what's the point of all that money?

It'll be interesting to see how Man Utd would cope without Ronaldo. Anecdotally, he's the only reason for their recent run of form. He has been playing brilliantly these past two years, and it'll be impossible to fill his position. I suppose they'll buy Benzema and Robinho? And maybe and revert to a 4-4-1-1? The mind boggles at the FM fantasy team they could set up with that kind of cash.

But one thing's for sure - it's nice to see Real Madrid target a non-Arsenal player for a change. I hope Fabregas isn't the jealous type.