MADRID CONTINUE RONALDO GAMES

From the Guardian

Real Madrid have played their first cards in a game they hope will end with Cristiano Ronaldo beaming in front of the world's press, that famous white shirt in his hands. If there were any doubts that the Portuguese winger is this year's must-have player at the Santiago Bernabéu, they were blown away in time-honoured fashion yesterday with a four-page splash in the Spanish sports daily Marca, announcing that Madrid's director of football and director of marketing had given the go-ahead to sign Ronaldo "even if he costs a fortune".

Marca also claims that Ronaldo has told Madrid officials he is willing to come to the Bernabéu and that a verbal agreement is now in place. "Ronaldo," ran the paper's headline, "says yes to Madrid." All he needs to do is speak to Sir Alex Ferguson and publicly demand to leave, a step which Marca claims he will make at the end of the season. With Madrid dependent on Manchester United agreeing to sell - something that appears unlikely after the comments this week of United's chief executive, David Gill, that they wanted the winger to stay until 2012 - that pressure from Ronaldo is, the paper conceded, "the key".

The leak marks the beginning of a well worn path: the signings of Zinédine Zidane, the Brazilian Ronaldo and David Beckham were all launched through strategic leaks to the Madrid sports press, semi-official mouthpieces of the club. The plan of action is always the same: first speak to the agent, then the press, then the player and finally the player's club. This still has a long way to run but Madrid hope that they can force United's hand - and that of Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes.

It is understood that Madrid have spoken to Mendes about Ronaldo's future and about that of Jose Mourinho - who is on the Bernabéu shortlist for next season and who would welcome the opportunity to work with Ronaldo - should he leave Chelsea. Mendes has told Madrid that Ronaldo would be keen on a switch to the Bernabéu and Madrid have taken those words at face value. They are keen for their fans to be aware of their approach and are now prepared to push hard in order to make the promise a reality.

Madrid's president, Ramón Calderón, is under serious pressure after a disappointing season and question marks still hang over the legitimacy of his presidency, which he won only after a judge declared all postal votes null and void. He is also desperate to erase the memory of his broken electoral pledge to sign Kaka, Cesc Fábregas and Arjen Robben by bringing in the man widely considered the best player on the world market.

However, Mendes has had similar conversations with Barcelona, who are also keen to secure the winger, and has told United that he will open negotiations over a new contract. He is prepared to deal with all three sides in order to secure the best deal for his client and it is no coincidence that this story should have broken in the wake of United's declarations that a new contract for Ronaldo was close. The message to United appears to be: don't get cocky. Perhaps someone ought to say the same to Madrid.