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What next for Cristiano Ronaldo?

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It's a good thing for his loyal readers that "Mystical" Mike Norman can refer to his crystal ball to predict where Cristiano Ronaldo will be in a couple of years time, because noone else seems to know..

Every day I wake up to read or hear about the ongoing battle between Real Madrid and Manchester United over what shirt Cristiano Ronaldo will be donning next season. Quite frankly, it's getting a bit silly.

Last week Sir Alex Ferguson slammed Madrid for using the Spanish media as a way of advertising their designs on the Portuguese superstar. United are willing to back their manager if necessary and lodge a complaint to FIFA about Madrid's actions. On the other hand Real are denying any wrongdoing and saying that they are simply expressing their admiration for one of the most sought after players in world football.

It's quite obvious to me that Real Madrid would welcome Ronaldo in their team (who wouldn't), and it's also quite obvious that Ronaldo would love, at some stage in his career, to play for the Spanish giants. But it's even more obvious that the only person who can end this war-of-words saga is Cristiano Ronaldo himself. He is contracted to United for the next few years at least - so why doesn't he just come out and state his intentions? If he wants to stay then say so, if he doesn't then let Madrid (and any other team for that matter) start a bidding war.

Personally I'd fully expect Ronaldo to be at Old Trafford next season, though I would seriously question whether he will be there when his current deal runs out in 2012.

He has already achieved more than anyone could have expected at United - two Premiership titles, FA Cup and Champions League winners medals, two player of the year awards, and 42 goals in a season are testament to the impact he has had since his arrival in 2003. But given that United over the next two or three years will win at least one more league title (they are [2.36] to retain it next season), the FA Cup, and go a long way to winning another Champions League, then Ronaldo will surely start to think that he has achieved all he can in England.

He has openly admitted a desire to play in La Liga in the future, and only a few weeks ago told a Spanish TV network, "It is good to know that other clubs are interested in you. I have said millions of times that I would love to play in Spain". Ronaldo may also feel that to be regarded as one of the world greats you have to play on the continent to get the recognition you fully deserve. It's a fact that since 1991 when the 'FIFA World Player of the Year' award was introduced, no English based player has ever won it.

Ronaldo has also been touted in some quarters as a future Manchester United captain, but I'd be amazed if this was to ever happen. With Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs staying at United for at least another season, and Rio Ferdinand likely to be there for a good few years yet, then there is no reason to give the captain's armband to Ronaldo. I'm not saying he wouldn't be capable because being captain of Portugal at his tender age clearly shows he is, I'm just saying that there are better candidates currently at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the greatest foreigners ever to grace the Premiership and he has a desire and the motivation to keep on improving. Unlike some other great foreigners (Zola, Cantona, Bergkamp to name but a few) he joined United at an early age rather than as the last big club of his career, and therefore has the opportunity to showcase his talents on the world stage. Yes he will have that opportunity with Portugal, and with United in Europe over the next few years, but there is somewhat of an inevitability that he will be doing it for Real Madrid sooner, rather than later.

Mentally Ronaldo will be going into Euro 08 on a massive high after his recent achievements at club level, but it's worth pointing out that he played nearly 50 games for United this season and he may be a little jaded physically. I still think Portugal will go quite far and they can be backed at [8.8] to be crowned European Champions or at [5.2] to reach the final.

I'd be against Ronaldo at [10.5] to be the tournament top goalscorer as I think there will be some low scoring games in Portugal's group - my only bet in this market is on Germany's Lukas Podolski at [23]. I think Germany will score quite highly in this tournament, and if Podolski starts then he represents cracking value.