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The best player in the world will no longer be gracing the Old Trafford pitch

This morning's Daily Mail puts the best possible spin on Ronaldo's move.  The newspaper suggests that Sir Alex Ferguson has £100m to bring the likes of Ribery and Benzema to Old Trafford.  We shall see.

The Times sits at the other end of the spectrum warning that Manchester United's other most important player - Nemanja Vidic - is also thinking of leaving:

"Vidic’s wife, Ana, is growing increasingly unsettled in Manchester and wants to move to a warmer climate. Pep Guardiola, the Barcelona coach, is hoping to exploit the situation by making a £25 million bid for the Serbia defender."

I can't add to Martin Samuel's column today.  It is a depressing read.  Man Utd have lost the best player in the world, in the "upswing of his career", to a massive rival.  Yes, Ronaldo had many faults.  He was arrogant, often a bad loser, sometimes infantile but he was always wonderful to watch.  There were his, as Samuel writes, "extraordinary goals from outlandish range, courageous headers, wonder dribbles, invention, imagination and a deadball technique that redefined the art."

Of course Man Utd will never die but yesterday was a historic moment.  The reaction of Liverpool fans I spoke to yesterday was instructive.  They know what we've lost.  I don't say that Sir Alex was wrong to sell him.  There was little point preventing Ronnie from fulfilling his boyhood dream to wear Real's famous white shirt but my Old Trafford season ticket doesn't seem such good value this morning.

Tim

Thank you, Cristiano

So is this the end of Cristiano Ronaldo's time at Man Utd?  It certainly looks like it.  The club have accepted a world-record £80 million bid from Real Madrid for the Portugeuse winger's services, and all that remains is for Ronnie's representatives to bash out terms with the Madrid money-men.  In fact, they may have done so already: if the rumours that an agreement was reached last summer are true.

As Scott the Red puts it over at The Republik of Mancunia this is a decent bit of business for Utd.  But, obviously. there's more to losing one of the world's greatest players - one of the greatest players ever to play the game, surely - than the money involved.  Ronnie has given United a lot since he joined us in 2003: 291 appearances, 118 goals, and the driving impetus behind three league titles and one European Cup.  And even last season, when performances seemed a little muted, he still delivered some fantastic moments - just who could forget that performance against Arsenal in the away leg of the Champions League semi-final?

There will be sadness, and there will be recriminations, at Ronnie's departure.  But, for now, only one thing needs to be said: thank you, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.