As International football leaves centre stage for another month or so, the return to club competition is a welcome relief to those of us left cold by the interminable World Cup and Euro qualifying rounds. This weekend's domestic program throws up some interesting fixtures both at home and abroad and whilst John Terry's meeting with Anton Ferdinand at Loftus Road tops the Premier League bill, it is Manchester City's trip to the Bernabau on Tuesday that has the most intreguing sub-plot.
The clash between the champions of England and Spain on day 1 of the 2012/13 Champions League campaign already had enough interest and excitement around it before the Cristiano Ronaldo 'issue' was thrown into the mix. For those with short memories, the enigmatic Portuguese superstar left Manchester United in the summer of 2009 joining Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee of £80 million. The player's signature was seen as a clear attempt to wrestle back both domestic and Champions League supremacy from arch rivals Barcelona, however despite impressive goal tallies in each of his three seasons to date, Real have failed to add to their total of nine European Cup wins and only in season 2011/12 did they manage to beat the Catelan giants to La Liga title.
After a patchy performance at Euro 2012, rumours began to circulate that Ronaldo was unhappy with his contract at Madrid and unless his package was significantly increased then he would seek a move away. With very few clubs on the planet able to even contemplate taking on the player and Ronaldo himself, being at the peak of his career, unlikely to want a move away from the major European Leagues, Manchester City was the first name on everyone's lips.
A move to the self-proclaimed world's richest club would have seemed unthinkable at the time Ronaldo left local rivals United, particularly with the player saying of Sir Alex Ferguson "He's been my father in sport, one of the most important factors and most influential in my career." However if a week is a long time in politics, then three years is an Age in football. The 'noisy neighbours' have done the unthinkable and become Manchester's premier club and with Sir Alex's career looking to finally be in its last throes the unthinkable could easily become reality.
Ronaldo has recently come out to try and defend his position and defuse any animosity from his club's fans, however there is rarely smoke without fire and if City can maintain their domestic dominance and establish themselves as a European superpower during the 2012/13 season then don't rule out a Ronaldo return to Manchester, only this time to the Blue half of the City.
Source: DSG
