CRISTIANO RONALDO appears to have made up his mind to leave Manchester United and fulfil his "dream" of joining Real Madrid. The Portugal international has informed his agent, Jorge Mendes, that he wants to play in Spain and his decision has already been outlined to Madrid, encouraging them to step up their attempts to prise him from Old Trafford.
Ronaldo is being offered a salary in the region of €190,000 a week - after tax - and has told his closest associates that the financial rewards, as well as the opportunity to play for a club of Madrid's prestige, are too good to turn down.
The double footballer-of-the-year had stated on Saturday night that he would announce his decision "in two or three days", but journalists arriving at Portugal's Euro 2008 training base yesterday were informed that he would not speak to the media until Friday at the earliest.
Instead, one of his associates briefed the Portuguese journalists that Ronaldo, as suspected, was hoping United would relent on their refusal to entertain the idea of negotiating a world-record transfer.
Relations between the clubs have been severely strained and the latest developments will cause intense dismay to Alex Ferguson, who has been increasingly vocal in his criticism of Madrid. There is also a growing sense of foreboding about Ronaldo's motives, specifically the manner in which he has repeatedly adapted his line in a string of media interviews.
Ferguson had wanted the player to hold a press conference, or, at the very least, put out a statement, committing himself to the club, but Ronaldo has made it clear he plans to do nothing of the kind.
Mendes is believed to be in almost daily contact with Madrid and looking at ways to soften United's resistance.
Whether that is possible remains to be seen, as United have threatened to report the Spanish champions to Fifa and Ferguson has said he would rather let Ronaldo rot in the reserves than sanction the deal.
Contrary to reports, Ferguson has no plans to fly to Portugal, preferring to go on holiday to France and leave the matter to his chief executive, David Gill.
At the same time, Gill will try to convince Aaron Ramsey, the 17-year-old Cardiff City midfielder, to choose United ahead of Arsenal after both clubs had €6 million offers accepted.
United were the first to meet Cardiff's requirements and issued a statement describing themselves as "delighted" to have agreed the deal, only for it to emerge that Arsenal had matched their offer. Liverpool had also bid €6 million but Cardiff turned them down because of the way the deal was structured.
"We can confirm that the club has received formal bids from three Premier League teams for Aaron Ramsey," a statement from Cardiff read. "One of these is Manchester United though at this stage we can confirm that no deal has been done."
Ramsey was a keen rugby player before he decided to concentrate on football, and under manager Dave Jones he has made rapid progress at Cardiff and played 22 games last season, including the FA Cup final.
Guardian Service