FanHouse Cristiano Ronaldo

Let's face it, the European method of pulling names out from the proverbial hat to determine the pairings for its knockout competitions is, well, a foreign concept. About the only Stateside comparison is the selection committee drawing up the NCAA Tournament brackets every March.

To whit, Thursday in Monaco, UEFA staged its annual gala to determine the groups for the 2009-10 Champions League replete with glitz, glamor and the former Miss Switzerland pulling balls out of pots. Certainly a far cry from a group of middle-aged men sitting together in a hotel room discussing RPI.

For a little more than a half, D.C. United was on a level playing field with Real Madrid, whose rich tradition is surpassed only by its financial largesse. In the end, the depth and talent attracted by both (along with fresh legs in 95-degree heat) proved too much for the modest Major League Soccer outfit and the Spanish side triumphed, 3-0, in Sunday's friendly at FedEx Field.

United certainly can be proud of its effort. Its commitment and courage in possession and on the tackle far surpassed that of starstruck Toronto FC, which fell behind by three goals after a half hour in Friday's 5-1 loss. But D.C. is as tradition-rich as they come in MLS and has played these sorts of games before (Madrid in 2006, Chelsea, Boca Juniors, Vasco da Gama, Tottenham Hotspur, etc.).

D.C. United President Kevin Payne said Wednesday that, "We are trying to build the kinds of traditions on and off the field that clubs like Real Madrid have built over decades. I want our fans and players to look at Real Madrid and say 'That's what we aspire to'."

Madrid has a rich history, a global brand and an overflowing trophy cabinet, no doubt. It's also a club that distorts the competitive landscape of European soccer by paying outrageous transfer fees for players developed by other clubs, and one that famously lacks patience with the coaches charged with integrating those players. Since firing Vincente Del Bosque in June 2003 (after two Champions League and two La Liga titles in four years), Madrid has hired nine managers.

Madrid Director of Football Emilio Butragueno joined Payne on a conference call hyping the Aug. 9 friendly between the clubs and defended spending hundreds of millions of euros to bring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka to the Bernabeu.

File this one away under something that nobody, I mean nobody, saw coming. Michael Owen was at Manchester United's training ground for medical tests and could sign with the Premier League champions before Friday is over.

It's not too often that a transfer is actually shocking, but if this one goes down it's a Grade A stunner. After losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez it's hard to fathom that Sir Alex Ferguson is chasing down a player who could barely stay on the field during his star-crossed tenure at Newcastle United. In fact, I read somewhere that Ronaldo and Tevez scored more goals the last two seasons than Owen made appearances.

Wednesday superstar Cristiano Ronaldo officially completed his world-record transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid. Perhaps the pressure is already getting to the Portuguese winger, as England's Sun newspaper alleges he got in a bit of a dust up with a 17-year-old female fan following him in Lisbon on Sunday by kicking in a window of a car she was sitting on.

Of course, usually anything that comes from the always reputable Sun (sarcasm alert) ought to be taken with a slight grain of salt. The paper also said Ronaldo apologized for the alleged incident, citing the fact his mother was with him when it occurred.

This summer, as the European transfer season began at 12:01 AM ET on July 1, one thing is absolutely clear -- all roads lead to Real Madrid.

Fresh off the heels of completing the mega-money swoops for Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, the Spanish giants appear to have added another high profile attacking talent in Lyon's French international Karim Benzema. Reports coming out Wednesday put the sides very close on a deal in the range of €35 million ($50 U.S.) that could be finalized before the day is over. (Update -- it appears the deal is complete.)

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.

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Kaka's mega-money move from AC Milan to Real Madrid, which became official on Monday, was that the transfer fee of around £59 million ($94 million U.S.) is a little less than half of a rumored price tag Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley put on the entire club at £100 million.

Think about that for a second. Real Madrid and it's new club president Florentino Perez paid a lump sum for one player for an amount relatively close for a big club in England, albeit a club that just got relegated. If that doesn't put the insane amount of money shelled out by Madrid in check, what does?

The biggest game of the 2009 world soccer calendar kicks off Wednesday night at Rome's Stadio Olimpico when Manchester United and FC Barcelona meet for the UEFA Champions League final. It's a true soccer lover's dream, pitting the champions of the Premier League and La Liga for club soccer's premier trophy.

Will it be Cristiano Ronaldo leading the Red Devils to their second consecutive Champions League crown? Or will it be Lionel Messi heading the Catalan giants to their second trophy in four years?

The game kicks off at 2:45 PM ET, and we'll be live-blogging shortly beforehand.