CRISTIANO RONALDO

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TORONTO — Canadian football fans, Portuguese expats and a battalion of screaming, star-struck girls swooned at the sight of Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's most expensive footballer, here on Friday.

Ronaldo's Real Madrid, one of the most famous clubs in the world, were in town to play a friendly against Toronto FC who were formed just three years ago.

"Never before has the Portuguese community in Toronto been able to savour the pleasure of having the best team in the world and Cristiano Ronaldo, the best player in the world, who is Portuguese," said Alex Franco, editor of Portuguese-Canadian newspaper, The New Millennium.

Ronaldo, 24, was the target for a host of autograph hunters, as well as young girls eager to be captured on a photograph with the high-profile star.

"I saw a lot of young ladies photographing Ronaldo last night at the practice, and they weren't there for soccer", noted Dick Howard, veteran Toronto soccer broadcaster and analyst.

Tickets for the one hour practice, Howard added, were snapped up at 15 dollars and "there were lots of Portuguese jerseys there".

Those who couldn't make Friday's game (Howard said that tickets were exchanging hands for thousands of dollars) were expected to be at the many bars and restaurants in the Portuguese neighborhoods in downtown Toronto.

"Soccer brings out our national pride - it really brings the community together," said local fan Ricardo Viveiros. "We are very proud that Ronaldo is the best."

And the Toronto team?

"It's a David and Goliath situation", warned Howard.

Other fans, however, were more optimistic.

"Don't forget that Real are just starting their season, while Toronto FC are in mid-season," explained Franco.

"Real are going to rotate a lot - we might see Ronaldo play for only a half hour. Toronto could lose by one goal or even draw the game."

Ryan Giggs has tipped Michael Owen to break Sir Bobby Charlton's England goal-scoring record.

Giggs eclipsed one of Charlton's landmark feats himself a year ago when he overtook his mark of 759 Manchester United appearances. Now up to 805 and still going strong, Giggs has been impressed by the speed with which Owen has integrated himself into the Old Trafford dressing room.

With four goals on the Far East tour and the prospect of more to come as United return to Europe for the four-team Audi Cup later this week, it would seem Owen is bound to come to England boss Fabio Capello's attention eventually.

Capello has consistently ignored Owen since the early games of his reign, claiming the sharp-shooter was simply not fit enough to be in contention for a place in his squad.

However, while he admits England's fortunes are none of his business, Giggs does not think it would take Owen long to score the nine goals he needs to equal Charlton's milestone of 49.

''He has it in him to do it,'' said the veteran Welshman. ''It has been a difficult record to overhaul because obviously it has stood for so long.

''But when you analyse Michael's career and look at the number of times he has played for England and the goals he has got, if he plays another 15 times he would probably do it.''

The first opportunity could come in Holland on August 12, four days before United begin the defence of their Premier League title against Birmingham.

Whether Capello can form an opinion on Owen from pre-season matches is open to debate but with another friendly against Slovenia immediately before the September 9 World Cup qualifier with Croatia, there are other opportunities, with others to follow that if the Three Lions beat Slaven Bilic's men to book their place at South Africa 2010.

And Owen could well be involved given he looks like a different player to the one who struggled so badly at Newcastle last term.

''Michael has said himself he was a bit surprised when United came in for him,'' observed Giggs. ''He has been at Newcastle and they have had a lot of trouble over the last couple of seasons, so to come into a side like Manchester United has obviously given him a new lease of life. He knows with the chances we do make, he will put them away.''

In fact, United have not had a goal poacher like Owen since Ruud van Nistelrooy left in controversial circumstances three years ago.

''Michael is a predator, which is something we don't presently have,'' said Giggs. ''We have had players like that over the years. Ruud is an obvious one. Andy Cole was another. They come alive in the box.

''From what I have seen over the years, the thing about Michael is that if he misses a chance it doesn't bother him one little bit. Some players go into their shell. It doesn't bother him at all.

''He knows he is going to get another chance. Ruud had the same mentality. All top goalscorers have it.

''They know they are going to get chances, so if they miss one, they just think, 'So what?'.''

If Owen can stay fit and keep hitting the target, United will not be far away from landing a record fourth successive championship, and going one clear of Liverpool in the overall standings on 19.

Giggs certainly feels his club are in better shape than many felt when Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez quit in quick succession.

''The squad is good. We have lost Cristiano and Carlos but we have other players coming through,'' said Giggs, reeling off the names of Nemanja Vidic and Antonio Valencia - who will both link up with their team-mates in Germany - and England Under-19 forward Danny Welbeck as additions to the party that has been on duty in Asia.

''We also have Owen Hargreaves to come back, which will be like having a new signing, so I still think this is a title-winning squad.''

The England centre-back is looking forward to starting the season with a win in Sunday's Community Shield...
Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand is looking to get the domestic campaign under way by putting down a marker and recording an emphatic win over Chelsea in the Community Shield game at Wembley on Sunday.

"Obviously being in Asia for two weeks took a lot out of the team - it was a tiring trip - but we should be very close to peak performance by Sunday,” he told United's official website.

"When there’s a trophy up for grabs it means everything to you to walk out of that stadium as winners."

Winning the trophy for an 18th time for the Red Devils would be a good way to begin the season, but Ferdinand insists that success does not mean that greater things will ineluctably follow over the course of the coming campaign.

"Winning would be great, but it won’t guarantee a successful season. You can’t read too much into these things," he added.

Much talk around the Old Trafford club has centred upon how they will fill the goalscoring gap left by the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlo Tevez, but Ferdinand isn't too concerned, feeling that the goals will be distributed around the team, with new signings such as Michael Owen playing their part.

"I think the goals will be spread around a lot more this season," he stated.

"Over the last two seasons Ronny was sort of our ‘go-to guy’, someone we relied on a lot to stick the ball in the back of the net. His goal record was phenomenal.

"But the likes of Wazza [Wayne Rooney], Berba [Dimitar Berbatov] and Michael Owen will score plenty of goals, as will our young forwards like [Federico] Macheda and [Danny] Welbeck. And you’ll probably see more from the midfielders as well.

"I think the biggest concern with Michael [Owen] when he signed was making sure he stayed fit.

"But he definitely has the right people around him at the club to help him manage his playing time. It’s just a case of him alerting the staff to any little niggles he has at an early stage and them keeping a close eye on him.

"We all know he’s got goals in him and we’ll see a lot more this season."

Chelsea have just become the 2/1 co-favourites to win the 2009/10 Premier League, and one man who can help propel them to victory this season is Didier Drogba.

The Ivorian has been unsettled at Stamford Bridge since Jose Mourinho left the club, although he now appears focused ahead of the new campaign and is 17/2 with bet365 to win the Premier League's Golden Boot award, like he did three seasons ago.

In addition, bet365 have created a series of goalscorer match bets and have reported several wagers on Drogba to outscore Michael Owen next season.

The former is available at 4/7, compared to the latter at 5/4, especially with the Red Devils striker likely to be used sparingly next term.

Bet365 have also created a bit of rivalry for Tottenham and Arsenal fans by pricing up Jermain Defoe and Robin Van Persie in a match bet.

It’s the injury-prone Dutchman who is favourite at 8/11, although his opposite number could benefit from hooking up again with Peter Crouch and is even-money to score more.

Click here to check out all the Premier League goalscorer match bets, including Steven Gerrard v Frank Lampard – bet365 are struggling to decide who will score the most!

Manchester United manger Sir Alex Ferguson has hit back at those suggesting new signing Michael Owen is past his best and said he is adamant he will score a respectful proportion of the club's goals this season.

Owen, who moved to Old Trafford on a free transfer last month, came under criticism following his performance against Valencia on Wednesday night in a pre-season friendly during which he missed four good goal scoring opportunities.

Not fazed by the 29-year-old's performance against the Spanish side however, Ferguson is the first to point out that his new striker has scored four times in six matches this summer.

Standing by his decision to sign Owen, the Scot said: "Michael may have reached the stage in his career where he won't figure in every game - but he'll score a lot of goals for us.

"It will be in keeping with his tremendous record throughout his career for England, Liverpool and Newcastle. Michael was perhaps out most controversial summer signing but I believe he'll continue to surprise people."

In recent years, Owen has been plagued by a series of injuries. In 2006 he sustained a foot fractured which kept him out of action for several months - almost immediately after his return he picked up an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury to his right knee and was ruled out for a year.

A series of muscle strains, illness and surgery for a double hernia has also seen him sidelined, but Ferguson is sure Owen can take inspiration from Paul Scholes who last season fought back from injury in a desperate bid to be fit for the Champions League final against Barcelona.

"There seems to be a constant debate about the injuries he's picked up over the years but look at Paul Scholes," Ferguson told the Sun. "He's had two or three injuries and he's always come back - so we are not worried about Michael.

"If players have the resolve to get back then they always will and there's no doubt Michael still loves the game and is hungry to play."

It's the perfect example of the plebeians being granted an audience with royalty.

European super club Real Madrid, the greatest team in the history of club soccer, will deign to grace Major League Soccer with its presence Friday night when it takes on Toronto FC in an international friendly at BMO Field.

Compare the respective resumés of the two teams.

With a global following of hundreds of millions of fans, Real Madrid has won a record nine European Cups/Champions League titles and 31 Spanish league championships since their inception in 1902.

Some of the best players ever to play the game have worn Madrid's famous white jersey, including Alfredo di Stefano, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo. The newest star is Cristiano Ronaldo, having joined the club in June after los Blancos paid Manchester United $145 million Cdn, a world record transfer fee, for the services of the Portuguese star.

Toronto FC, meanwhile, has one piece of silverware in their trophy cabinet (the 2009 Canadian club championship) and have yet to make the playoffs since joining MLS in 2007.

Real Madrid, granted royal status by King Alfonso XIII in 1920, will use this four-day, pre-season tour of North America to prepare for the start of their Spanish league campaign, which kicks off on Aug. 30.

The Spanish outfit will also play D.C. United in Washington on Sunday before heading back home.

Even though Friday's game is an exhibition, both sides are taking it seriously.

"It's going to be a great experience for the lads, to play against one of the best teams in the world, if not the best. It'll be interesting to see how they cope with it," Toronto coach Chris Cummins said.

Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini is using this North American tour to give playing time to his new players and build team chemistry.

"It's an opportunity to evaluate the new players and it gives them a chance to adapt to each other, to gel and develop the right understanding between each other," the Chilean tactician said through a translator.

Indeed, los galaticos have been busy this summer, spending close to $400 million Cdn in transfer fees on a host of new players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema and Alvaro Arbeloa.

Toronto FC captian Jim Brennan and his fellow defenders expect to have their hands full against Ronaldo, the reigning FIFA world player of the year.

"He's unbelievable, he's one of the best players in the world. I was fortunate enough to [go up] against him against Portugal when I played for Canada and he's something special," Brennan said.

Despite the obvious gap in class between Real Madrid and Toronto FC, the Spanish side doesn't plan to take its Canadian opponents lightly.

"In the end, it's 11 players against 11 players on the field. I think we'll show a lot of attacking mentality and hopefully produce some goals," Madrid midfielder Guti said.

Toronto had to lay down natural grass over BMO Field's artificial surface, at a cost of $250,000, before the Spanish club agreed to pay a visit to Canada.

But Real Madrid players were seen stamping down divots during their open practice Thursday night that attracted a paying crowd of 18,000 fans at BMO Field.

The Blues opening game will not be any easier just because the Portuguese superstar won't be playing...
Birmingham City begin their return to the Premier League with a trip to Old Trafford to face champions Manchester United, and Blues manager Alex McLeish thinks that the suggestion that the Red Devils will somehow be an easier proposition just because Cristiano Ronaldo no longer plays for them is wrong.

The United manager still has some fine players at his disposal and McLeish is foresees a situation where some other great names will step up in the Portuguese player's absence.

"People like Wayne Rooney will, as Sir Alex says, adapt within the system a little bit," he explained to Sky Sports News.

"The guys like Wayne Rooney will flourish, I'm sure that they will. Michael Owen looks as if he's had a good pre-season behind him and they've got so many other fantastic players there."

One other forward McLeish expects to see raise the level of his displays this season is enigmatic Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, a man who may feel that this will be the season to answer the doubters and prove his ability at the highest level.

The Birmingham boss is backing the player to do just that and show he is truly worthy of his place at Old Trafford.

"I'm sure we'll see a Berbatov who will be worthy of wearing the Man Utd jersey this season," he added. "I wasn't one of his critics last year, but I know there's more to come from the guy.

"And he will prove a superb player for them this season."

Life after Cristiano Ronaldo, even for a club with the mental, physical and financial resilience of Manchester United, was never going to be easy. The decamping of the Portugal forward and playboy for Real Madrid has left a huge void.

Wayne Rooney will no longer benefit from Ronaldo's assistance, but can recognise the value of the £80 million move and relate to the desires of the prolific forward. “I've spoken to him since he left,” Rooney said. “He was a great player for United, but it was his wish to go and I think the club have respected that. He did a great job for us and the money we got for him was unbelievable.

“We don't feel let down by him. We always knew he was going to go at some time. For both the club and for himself, it was a good deal. The six years we had out of him was brilliant so we wish him well.”

United are having to adjust to life after Carlos Tévez, too. Though less stellar or as self-obsessed or as regularly used as Ronaldo, the hard-working Argentina forward felt unloved at Old Trafford and also felt the urge to move on, around the corner to Manchester City.

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Antonio Valencia's impressive home debut for Manchester United proved there is life after Cristiano Ronaldo.

Valencia, a £17million summer buy from Wigan, set up both goals in United's 2-0 pre-season friendly win over Valencia at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Although Valencia lacks the goalscoring threat of Ronaldo, Fergie believes his pace and athleticism can offer United something different but equally effective.

"The important thing for me was Valencia's performance," said Fergie. "I thought he was very, very good.

"He's got great balance, power and speed. Coming to our club, he's immediately taken to the challenge well and with purpose, so we're very pleased with what we've seen so far."

United will undoubtedly miss the weight of goals Ronaldo provided every season, particularly with their current midfielders who lack the ability to score on a regular basis.

And in three seasons at Wigan, 23-year-old Valencia managed just seven goals in 89 appearances, compared to 91 from Ronaldo over the same period.

Yet given their contrasting styles, any comparison made between Valencia and Ronaldo - although ostensibly both wide players - is unfair and misleading.

But the Ecuador international can at least point to having the edge over United's former star player last season when it came to the effectiveness of his crossing.

While only 16 per cent of Ronaldo's crosses into the penalty area found their intended target, Valencia's percentage was 32, making him more effective in terms of delivery.

That much was evident on Wednesday, when Valencia's superb acceleration twice took him past Valencia defenders to set up both of United's goals.

What Valencia's impressive diaplay showed is that any relief the Premier League's left-backs had at the departure of Ronaldo may have been a touch premature.

And although Ronaldo is famed for his ability to go past players with the ball, Valencia's dribble completion percentage was better, at 44 compared to 39.

Defensively Valencia also performed better than Ronaldo last season, his tackle efficiency of 79 per cent pent than United's former No.7, who managed just 75.

Fergie has already admitted United will be a much tighter, more compact unit next season in the absence of Ronaldo, and are likely to revert back to a 4-4-2 formation.

"We'll be more compact in midfield because Ronaldo was a bit loose in his defending," said Fergie.

"You could forgive that, though, because he would give you something back in another way, further up the field.

"We'll be more compact, but we also have the increasing maturity of players like Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick.

"Anderson will improve, Nani will improve and Wayne Rooney will improve. Add to that Valencia and Michael Owen, so we're not too bad."

Fergie defended United's failure to spend a huge chunk of the £80m from the sale of Ronaldo to Real Madrid, claiming his prudence in the transfer market was justified.

"We're working from a position of strength," said Fergie. "We don't suddenly have to splash out to try to compete at the top.

"We're already there, thanks to a long-term strategy of buying mostly young players who we feel have the potential to become top performers.

"It's certainly our intention to challenge for everything on offer and I feel we're well-placed to take on all comers."

"I know there'll be some fans who are disappointed we didn't spend the princely £80m on another superstar.

"I would have done had I felt we would have been getting value for our money, but this close season some crazy things went on and the price of players went through the roof.

"The asking price for players we were looking at just wasn't realistic and we held off.

"We've have shown over the years that we're not afraid to spend big and we've frequently created transfer records.

"But only when we felt the level of the fees made financial sense. The level of the fees being demanded in recent months just didn't add up."

Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s much publicised £80 million move from English Premier League Champions Manchester United to Spanish giants Real Madrid not only has the Portuguese winger sold his luxury Cheshire mansion reportably to Manchester City new boy Emanuel Abebayor for £5.5 million, but has also sold two of his cars.

Manchester-based company Vehicle Consulting was used to sell Ronaldo’s 2004 Mercedes Benz C-Class and 2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed, similar to the one pictured, with the latter fetching £115,000. The five year old Mercedes C-Class sold for substantially sell than the Bentley.

The Continental GT Speed is the most powerful production Bentley ever and the first to top 200mph, thanks to the W12 engine delivering 600bhp and a 9% increase in power over the standard Continental GT.

Ronaldo who at the turn of 2009 smashed and wrote off his Ferrari in a tunnel under a Manchester Airport runway, has finally joined his boyhood club after almost leaving the English champions in the summer of 2008.

Real Madrid sure knows how to draw a crowd.

More than 18,000 fans filed BMO Field Thursday night to catch a glimpse of soccer royalty and watch the Spanish club practise ahead of its exhibition game against Toronto FC on Friday.

Rabid soccer spectators hooted and hollered at the top of their lungs, especially every time reigning FIFA world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo touched the ball, as los Galacticos strolled through their paces during the 55-minute training session.

Afterwards, Real Madrid players kicked souvenir balls into the stands, much to the delight of the adoring fans.

"It was totally worth the [$15] price of tickets to see them practise," one fan told CBCSports.ca.

Friday evening's game between the nine-time champions of Europe and Toronto FC is billed as an international friendly, but newly hired Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini views the contest as a vital test for his team as it prepares for the start of the Spanish league season, set to kick off on Aug. 30.

"It's an opportunity to evaluate the new players and it gives them a chance to adapt to each other, to gel and develop the right understanding between each other," the Chilean tactician said through a translator.

Indeed, los Blancos have been busy this summer, spending close to $400 million in transfer fees on a host of new players, including Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema and Alvaro Arbeloa.

Last season a disappointment

That massive financial outlay came in response to a disappointing 2008-09 season for Madrid, which finished a respectable second place in the Spanish first division, but crashed out of the Champions League in the second round following a humiliating loss to Liverpool.

What's more, Madrid had to watch in horror as bitter rivals FC Barcelona recorded a historical treble, winning the Spanish league championship and Spanish Cup, as well as being crowned champions of Europe.

Pellegrini was brought in during the off-season, replacing Juande Ramos (who himself replaced former coach Bernd Schuster last December) and charged with the responsibility to lead Madrid back to the top of the heap in Spain and in the Champions League, which they last won in 2002.

Winning isn't enough, though, as Pellegrini admitted that it's just as important for Real Madrid to win with style, and play an attacking and entertaining brand of soccer.

"The first challenge is to win. If you accept the responsibility of coaching Real Madrid, you have to win every competition you play in," the Chilean said. "The other challenge is the responsibility of playing a style of soccer that will allow us to satisfy and entertain the fans each week."

Canadian football fans could be first to see in the flesh the Galacticos' triple threat.

It has been a long time in waiting, but Real Madrid fans will finally get a first glimpse of the completed second generation Galacticos project.

Los Merengues yesterday landed in Toronto, Canada, for their North American tour, and with players like Kaka, Raul Albiol and Xabi Alonso - all of whom have yet to debut in the famous white shirt - in the squad, coach Manuel Pellegrini will be able to begin the process of fine-tuning his first XI.

According to AS, Madrid and Pellegrini are not obliged by the contract of their tour to field all their megastar signings, but the Chilean trainer nevertheless is expected to summon, for the first time, the Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema attacking trident.

However, ‘El Ingeniero’ would not guarantee who will be playing when he simply said during a press conference that there’s a “big possibility” Kaka and Xabi will debut as Blancos.

“First of all, this is just an evaluation,” The Canadian Press quoted him telling reporters.

“It’s also about having the opportunity to have the new players adapt to each other, get to meld and have the right understanding of the players on the field, as well as start practising new tactics and the new way of play Real Madrid will be showing in the upcoming season.”

But Pellegrini left no doubt as to what the team’s main goal will be once the campaign-proper gets underway at the end of August.

“The first challenge is to win,” he declared. “Obviously, we have to go after each and every competition that we will be playing in.

“At the same time, the other challenge is the responsibility of having a style of game that will allow Real Madrid to satisfy all the fans who go to the stadium every week.”

Finally, goalkeeper Iker Casillas chipped in: “We know that we have a team capable of bringing results in all the major competitions in Europe.”

Toronto FC’s 20,000-capacity BMO Field was reportedly almost filled to the brim for Madrid’s first training session on Thursday night. The only key players in the squad who failed to make the trip are Sergio Ramos, Fernando Gago and Marcelo.

The match will kick-off at 19:30 ET local time on August 7, or 01:30 CET August 8

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has signed a new three-year contract with the English Premier League giants.

The 31-year-old is tied contractually to Stamford Bridge until 2012 after extending his current deal, which had a year to run, by a further two years.

It completes a remarkable change of fortunes for the Ivory Coast international who looked set to leave Chelsea last season after being dropped by then manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

But he returned to his best under interim boss Guus Hiddink and scored the equalizer in Chelsea's FA Cup final victory over Everton.

Drogba will miss the first three games of Chelsea's Champions League campaign after his controversial clash with referee Tom Henning Ovrebo following their semifinal exit against Barcelona last season.

But new manager Carlo Ancelotti will be pleased to seal a deal with Drogba after failing to land Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo from AC Milan, his top transfer target in close season.

"I have decided to extend my contract with Chelsea for two extra years and I am very happy and proud to continue to wear the blue of Chelsea until then," Drogba told Chelsea's official club Web site..

"I love the club, I feel good here and I want to continue to win titles with them.

"I stay because I am ambitious to pick up lots more trophies, regain the Premier League title, win cups. It is for this that I have extended my time at Chelsea.

"But my number one objective is to win the Champions League. I am convinced that this year we can go to the end and finally lift this trophy."

Ancelotti signaled last week that he wanted Drogba to sign a new deal and has also persuaded Florent Malouda and Jon Obi Mikel to put pen to paper on extended contracts since taking over.

In other English Premier League news, Darren Bent has finally completed his protracted $16.5 million transfer from Tottenham to Sunderland.

The England international completed a medical and agreed terms with the Wearsiders on Wednesday.

Fans of FC Schalke 04, which represents western Germany's Ruhr Valley in the country's top league, the Budesliga, support their team with a round of "Blue and White, how I love you".

The third verse contains the line:

Mohammed war ein Prophet, der vom Fussballspielen nichts versteht/ Doch aus all der schoenen Farbenpracht hat er sich das Blau und Weisse ausgedacht.

(Muhammad was a prophet who understood nothing about football/ But of all the lovely colours he chose [Schalke's] blue and white.)

But since a reference to the ode to team's colours was carried in Turkish media, the team has received hundreds of complaints from Muslims.

A spokesman said the club had hired an expert on Islam to look into the question.

Aiman Mazyek, the head of Germany's Central Council of Muslims, said his group would not call for a ban on the song, but acknowledged that the line could anger some. He noted that the area represented by the team had a large Turkish population.

German has a Muslim population of over four million.

Portugal coach called up Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Pepe and Simao, among others, for the friendly game against Liechtenstein on August 12. The additions to Fernando Queiroz’s squad for Portugal friendly game in Vaduz, against Liechtenstein, are Porto and Benfica goalkeepers, Beto and Moreira respectively.

Of course Cristiano Ronaldo is included, as well as Real Madrid teammate Pepe. Queiroz picked also Deco, Nani and Simao.

Portugal stand third in Qualifying Group 1 for World Cup 2010, four points behind second place Hungary and trailing leaders Denmark by seven. This friendly game against Liechtenstein will be used as a test to tune up the squad for their qualifier in September.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo is irreplaceable - so he isn’t going to try. Instead he will place his faith in the young talent already at Old Trafford to fill the void.

“We knew we could never replace Ronaldo," said Ferguson. "When you’ve had someone who is the best at what he does, it is no good trying to find someone to do the same job.

“And when you know you can’t replace someone or something, you look for a different way. People have misread our situation and they have underestimated our ability to improve players. That is an area where we have proved successful in the past.”

United's young guns:

Danny Welbeck 18
Arguably the brightest prospect Manchester United have produced since the Beckham generation. Fast-tracked from the under-18s to the first team squad in less than a year, he scored on his league debut with a 20-yard strike against Stoke. Occasionally deployed out wide, the Manchester-born striker’s future lies in a more central role.

Frederico Macheda 17
A rangy, powerful yet skilful forward, the Italian was brought over from Lazio aged 16 and signed professional forms at United on his 17th birthday. Winning goals in consecutive Premier League matches at the end of last season from Macheda dug United out of a sticky patch of form and set the on their way to the title.

Rafael da Silva 19
The long term solution to the decline through age and injury of Gary Neville, Rafael has already put in plenty of first team performances to suggest the hype may need to be believed. Marauding up the flank, in the tradition of attacking Brazilian fullbacks, the youngster brings as much to the side going forward as he does defensively.

Fabio da Silva 19
Injury prevented the younger of the da Silva twins from making the same sort of impact Rafael did last year, but he has already shown glimpses that he may even be the better of the two. Lightning quick, skilful and surprisingly tough. Fabio, on the left, and Rafael, on the right, have been called Brazil’s answer to the Nevilles. With all due respect to Gary and Phil, they could be a lot better than that.

Jonny Evans 21
Established as United’s first reserve at centre-back behind Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Evans has belied his tender years when called in to action, despite having big boots to fill. Calm, composed and an excellent reader of the game, he will see plenty of action while waiting for his time to step up to be an automatic first pick.

Davide Petrucci 17
Another Italian, this time an all-action midfielder in the mold of a slightly tougher Francesco Totti, brought to the club last summer from Roma after a bitter wrangle with the Serie A side. Caught the eye scoring 14 goals in 19 matches in youth football and a star for the Italian under-17 team, Petrucci is close friends with Macheda and Ferguson believes that will help the pair form a promising partnership on the field.

Nani 22
Arriving at United as a raw 20-year-old from Sporting Lisbon, Nani inevitably drew comparisons with Ronaldo. A wide player with pace to burn and an eye for the spectacular goal (and goal celebration) the first few months showed glimpses of his talent but last season was patchy at best and his task now is to home his talents, as Ronaldo did, in to more something productive and consistent.

Darron Gibson 21
Took his time to come up through the ranks with Manchester United but was publicly rewarded for his efforts with the reserves earlier this season when Ferguson announced he would start in the Carling Cup final against Tottenham. Having played every round of the tournament the midfielder also proved himself an established senior player after scoring goals against Southampton and Derby in the FA Cup.

Anderson 22
The Brazilian was horribly exposed in Manchester United’s Champions League final defeat to Barcelona but that one game should not disguise the steady [progress he has made since joining the club. A combative, tough tackling midfielder with bags of energy and the ability to pick a pass, he has even managed to get on the scoresheet in pre-season, something he has yet to do in 75 competitive appearances for United.

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has defended the £80million fee he agreed with Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo last year.
The Spanish giants have spent close to £200m this summer, getting the second Florentino Perez era up and running by bringing in the likes of Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema.

Calderon left the Bernabeu in January but had already set in place a deal to sign World Player of the Year Ronaldo from Manchester United at the end of the 2008/09 season.

He believes the investment will turn out to be money well spent.

"I don't know if someone will think it's too much, others will think it's a reasonable amount of money for a great player like Cristiano Ronaldo," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"For example, 12,000 euros is a year's salary for people here in Spain but I could spend that on a bottle of wine.

"It depends on what you expect from that investment. It's true Real Madrid is able to do that because we manage the money in the right way.

"Around 200million euros we had as income when I became president, now 415million euros income. I left 100m euros in the bank and the profit of 115million and that's why we can spend our money, or I think it's better to say 'invest'."

Among all the high-profile galactico signings, a Spanish core remains at the Bernabeu including the likes of Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Raul.

But Calderon hinted his successor could be on a collision course with club stalwart Raul, saying: "He's an icon of Real Madrid fans, been here for I think 17 years. The present president wasn't too much in love with him when he left."

Calderon believes new Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini will have his work cut out trying to cope with the weight of expectation in the Spanish capital.

"It's very difficult to be anything in Real Madrid - president, trainer, player... it's a very difficult club to adapt to," he said.

"Because of the expectation, the pressure of the media here. There are two newspapers every day with let's say 24, 25 pages of Real Madrid. It's too much pressure."

Arch rivals Barca completed an unprecedented treble last term of Primera Division, Copa del Rey and Champions League glory, but Calderon reckons they may regret letting go of Samuel Eto'o.

The Cameroon frontman has left for Inter Milan with Zlatan Ibrahimovic heading in the opposite direction.

"Barcelona is very strong," Calderon said. "They showed that last season.

"The same team plus Ibrahimovic, a very good player... I don't know how Eto'o's leaving is going to affect them.

"He was very important last season, he scored 30-something goals. I don't know if Ibrahimovic is going to do the same work he did - a lot of pressure on the defence, not only the 30 goals he scored but also the pressure."

Calderon also sounded a note of caution to big-spending Manchester City, warning it takes more than big names to make up a good team.

He said: "I feel the players are not very happy going there, a club not playing in the Champions League, a club starting.

"Very good players want not only money, they want a good project, want to play for titles. I don't know if Manchester City can do that - maybe.

"You have to take into account not only good players make a good team. If you manage to put it all together it can work."

Cristiano Ronaldo, world soccer’s Player of the Year, will move into a 1,000 square meter (10,764 square feet) home in Madrid after joining Real Madrid for a world-record fee.

The 24 year-old winger has signed a deal to occupy the property in Pozuelo de Alarcon, 15 kilometers west of central Madrid, according to an official from Gilmar, the property broker that managed the deal. She declined to be identified by name or comment on whether Ronaldo will buy or rent the property and how much he will pay.

Properties in that area sell for between 5 million euros ($7.2 million) and 10 million euros, said Fernando Encinar, co- founder of Idealista.com, Spain’s largest real estate Web site. Rents range from 8,000 euros to 18,000 euros per month, he said.

The property has 5,000 square meters of grounds and is part of an estate that has a “great deal” of security, she said. Phone calls made to the office in Porto of Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s agent, went unanswered.

Real Madrid agreed to sign Portugal’s Ronaldo from Manchester United for 80 million pounds ($135 million) in June.

The Former Anfield man is confident the Reds can win this season's Premier League...

Jamie Redknapp believes his old club, Liverpool, will win this season's Premier League title and end two decades of hurt on Merseyside.

The Reds have not won the domestic title since the days of Alan Hansen, John Barnes and Peter Beardsley in the 1980's, but Redknapp is convinced his former side have what it takes to usurp rivals Manchester United as champions.

In an interview with Sky Magazine he said, "I’m not being biased, but I’d bet on it [Liverpool winning the League].

"If they perform anywhere near the level they did last year, I think they’ll win."

And the pundit confirmed the departure of a certain CR7 will have a major influence in this season's title race.

"Man United will miss Ronaldo so much," he asserted.

Redknapp's confidence comes in the face of criticism of Liverpool's championship credentials from Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who has dismissed the Anfield outfit's chances of success this season.

Cristiano Ronaldo said he was "very happy" to have scored his first Real Madrid goal since his record-breaking move from Manchester United but believes the most important thing is for the team to continue to gel.
Playing in his third match since his £80 million move, Ronaldo netted his first goal for Madrid after slotting home a second-half penalty during their Peace Cup match with Liga de Quito.

Bumping into a former flame can be embarrassing at the best of times.But when an unsuspecting Cristiano Ronaldo was ambushed by his ex, it was truely excruciating. Spanish model Nereida Gallardo came up on Ronaldo's blind side as the Real Madrid star, 24, left a Majorcan nightclub in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Nereida - who tattooed his initials on her wrist when they were together - yelled out: "But he's my ex-boyfriend!", but was brushed aside by security.

Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty Friday but suffered his first defeat as a Real Madrid player in a 2-1 loss against Juventus in the Peace Cup semifinal.Fabio Cannavaro opened the scoring and Hasan Salihamidzic notched the winning goal for the Italian club, which will meet Aston Villa in Sunday's final of the 12-team pre-season tournament

Sir Alex Ferguson has called on each member of his squad to make up for the potential shortfall of goals caused by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Real Madrid.

United have played six games, travelled more than 16,000 miles and crossed seven time zones over the past fortnight as they have taken their first steps towards adjusting to life without Ronaldo.

The Portuguese forward contributed a staggering 68 goals over his final two seasons at Old Trafford, campaigns in which United scored 119 (2008-09) and 110 (2007-08) goals in all competitions.

Real Madrid have protected themselves in the event of Cristiano Ronaldo suffering a serious injury by insuring the Portuguese superstars’ legs for the grandiose sum of €100m.

Real Madrid's club doctors have spent the weekend ensuring that there has been no lasting damage to Cristiano Ronaldo's knee after the tackle he received during the game against Juventus.

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Cristiano Ronaldo
"I am very happy about being here. This is a dream come true; as a child I dreamt of playing for Real Madrid. I didn't expect the stadium to be packed. This is unbelievable. Thank you all. Hala Madrid!"

Ronaldo's departure is far from the end of the world for Manchester United. Yes, the Barclays Premier League champions have lost one of the world's best footballers, and yes, if Sir Alex Ferguson could have kept hold of Ronaldo's precocious talent, he almost certainly would have done. But the fact remains the Portugal captain's transfer to the Bernabeu completes a remarkable piece of business for United, writes Claire Harmer.