Manchester United face opening the English Premiership season next month in disarray with their Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo adding to the list of Alex Ferguson's worries by making it clear he wants to leave for Real Madrid.
Already the manager is concerned about the potential injury fallout from the World Cup of Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville and Nemanja Vidic, as well as the continuing problem of Ruud van Nistlerooy's future.
Ronaldo, who did not train yesterday but is still given an 80 per cent chance of starting against England in their quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday, says he "dreams" of being a Real player, and wants to begin talks about leaving United after the World Cup.
Despite United's insistence yesterday that Ronaldo would still be at Old Trafford next season, the Portuguese player's stated ambition will compound Ferguson's summer of discontent, fired by his battle with Sven-Goran Eriksson over Rooney's much-chronicled metatarsal damage.
Just as Ferguson planned to launch an immediate and full-scale assault on Chelsea's supremacy, United's manager could be approaching an autumn of anguish. Not only are there fears of Rooney and Neville suffering further physical damage in Germany, quite apart from the question of their readiness for the new season even if fit, but Vidic also has to be closely monitored. The Serbia & Montenegro central defender, a £7 million (€10 million) signing in January, was ruled out for several weeks after injuring a knee a fortnight ago.
Ferguson also has to deal with Van Nistelrooy, and the Dutch striker appears to have little future there after being dropped by United in the spring and then by his country in Germany. Now the Ronaldo question looms large.
According to the Spanish sports daily Marca yesterday, Ronaldo, aligning himself to the campaign of Juan Miguel Villar Mir for Real's presidency, said: "I have told my agent that I want to leave United, but I want to leave in the best way possible. I want to play for Real Madrid - I dream of doing so. Any player in the world would want to play with footballers like (David Beckham, Brazil's Ronaldo, Raul and Roberto Carlos)."
Asked why he chose to go with Villar Mir and not one of the other four presidential candidates, Ronaldo replied: "Because I considered it the most correct and most serious (offer). The people who work with Villar Mir have proven they know how to do things the right way. They have explained their sporting project to me and the next step is for them to speak to United and negotiate a deal. After that we will look at my situation and my contract.
"Other candidates wanted me to sign an agreement. But that would go against the interests of my club, which is Manchester United. That would not be legal and I would never do so. Both Villar Mir and (his vice-presidential candidate) Carlos Sainz have promised me that they will speak to United. All we have done so far is speak via people who make up their candidacy.
"What I want is for everyone to come out of this a winner. There is a great relationship between the two clubs, going back years."
That is now about to be tested. Ronaldo, transferred to United for £12.5 million, will be offered around £2.8 million a year by Real in a four-year deal, according to Marca.
Villar Mir said yesterday: "Everything with Ronaldo is true, as he has said himself. We are acting within Fifa guidelines. Manchester know we are talking to him. We are approaching this issue through the front door."
But United swiftly pointed out that Ronaldo had in November signed a contract extension until June 2010. In a statement, the club added they were "astonished with Villar Mir's comment - There has been no contact between . . . United, his election team and/or Real and any suggestion there has is incorrect. Unfortunately, these tactics seem to be a common occurrence in elections of this nature."
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