Trying to Make Sense of the Cristiano Ronaldo Transfer

Waking up Thursday morning my inbox was more packed than usual. The words "Ronaldo" and "Real Madrid" featured prominently in subject lines.

Was I still dreaming? Was the other, original Ronaldo making an audacious comeback?

Rubbing the sand out of my eyes, no, it wasn't a dream. Manchester United had agreed for a world-record transfer fee of £80 million ($131M U.S.) for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, thus ending a multi-year flirtation with the Portuguese forward.

Obviously there are transfers and there are transfers ... and then there is this move, which ought to trigger a seismic ripple across the entire world of soccer. Batten down the hatches, because any and all players could be on the move, as clubs need to cash in to try to cover some of their debts and losses. It also, according to this chart, puts Real Madrid with the three last record-breaking transfers.

Yet, agreeing to sell off Ronaldo for an absurd amount of money wasn't just financially motivated for United. Sure the Glazer family has to pay off some of the loans it took out to purchase the club, but selling off star players isn't the United way, or most certainly not the Sir Alex Ferguson way.

As time progressed it became clearer and clearer that Ronaldo's future lied away from Old Trafford as he continued to flirt with Madrid during much of the last two seasons. Ferguson kept up the brave front that he would never sell Ronaldo, but it probably became inevitable once Manchester United won the 2008 Champions League. In fact, it was probably a minor miracle that Ronaldo stuck around this past season, helping United win its third straight Premier League title.

Why Ronaldo wanted to go to Madrid, which has clearly slipped a step behind United in terms of soccer, probably speaks to lifestyle. He wanted the high life of the Spanish capital, the glitz and glamor. He simply couldn't avoid the lure of the glowing "white angels" emanating from the Spanish capital.

Helping revive Real probably doesn't hurt either. He'd done just about everything he could have done at United since joining in 2003 and probably wanted a new challenge. (The weather differences from Spain and England probably didn't hurt, either.)

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Ronaldo's move is that in the span of a week Real Madrid has spent over $200 million on two players -- and a big money move for Valencia's David Villa seems imminent. Where, in this chilly economic climate, the club is able to find all that money lying around is astounding. It's almost on par with this past baseball offseason where every team retreated from free agent signings, but the Yankees found about a quarter of a billion to sign CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett.

Is Madrid banking on these new imports to offset the costs by winning trophies and selling merchandise worldwide? Will it put the club in financial ruin should it falter? Is there a plan beyond signing the biggest names in the world and dropping them onto the same field? I know I wouldn't want to be their bookkeeper, just typing these figures makes my head spin.

And again, the big question for Real Madrid remains, will newly elected club President Florentino Perez's return to the "Galactico Era" yield results? Yes, dropping Ronaldo and Kaka onto the same team seems like a perfect idea ... in a video game. Does it work in real life? We'll see for ourselves starting in August. La Liga has certainly vaunted to must-see status, effective immediately.

Getting back to United, as long as Ferguson stays at the helm of the ship the Red Devils will remain near the top of the club food chain. The immediate reaction will likely link the club to Bayern winger Franck Ribery or Wigan's Antonio Valencia. That said, just about every player that's not physically tied down will probably be rumored to end up at the club.

Will Ferguson opt to make some smaller moves, knowing one or more players can't bring what Ronaldo did? Will he decide to turn to the well-stocked United reserves? Will he go under the radar in the way he snared guys like Nemanja Vidic? Will this force him to sign Carlos Tevez?

Of course, whatever moves United makes, it doesn't offset the fact that Ronaldo is 100 percent irreplaceable. He's a magician, a talisman, a dead ball specialist. He was what gave United that extra gear when they needed it. And scoring 20-plus goals a season didn't hurt either. Even if you didn't like his sneer, preening and flops, you had to respect what he was able to do with the ball.

There's probably an equal reaction of anger and sadness among United fans across the globe today for the loss of the club's iconic No. 7. In times like this, just remember the good times and the massive trophy haul. In the end, Ronaldo only remains a YouTube click away.

Meanwhile on the flip side, Madridistas, are clearly in dreamland.