FanHouse CristianoRonaldo

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.

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.

Put the champagne on ice, because Manchester United could have the 2008-09 Premier League crown wrapped up before most Americans are awake Saturday morning.

The Red Devils put themselves on the doorstep of their third straight Premier League crown after beating Wigan Athletic 2-1 Wednesday, finally making up the 'game in hand' the club has held seemingly for months. Manchester United now lead second place Liverpool by six points with two games remaining. All Manchester United needs is one point from its two remaining games -- the first coming in the early Saturday morning fixture against rival Arsenal at Old Trafford.

So Cristiano Ronaldo hobbles off to Los Angeles for the ESPY Awards, and what's the first thing he gets asked on the red carpet? When he might move there and play for the Galaxy.

Sure, buddy. A guy who gets paid $240,000 a week and calls himself a slave will play in a second-rate league that gives players $5,300 bonuses for winning a million-dollar tournament and spend his free nights dodging Paris Hilton. Sounds like heaven compared to Madrid -- not that Manchester United will let him move there, either. So says Sir Alex Ferguson, anyway.

I suppose expecting a red carpet interviewer to know these things is probably asking too much. Dude probably doesn't even know that Ronaldo dumped his girlfriend last week. Then again, neither does she.

(H/T: 101 Great Goals)

Could someone explain to me why FIFA president Sepp Blatter felt it was necessary to comment about the Cristiano Ronaldo situation? Doesn't he have bigger fish to fry, like overseeing South Africa's readiness for the 2010 World Cup, or rigging the next FIFA vote to make sure he's re-elected? Or are those small things when compared to ensuring that Ronaldo gets what he wants?

It's not just that he felt the need to say something, either. It's what he actually said:

"There's too much modern slavery, in transferring players or buying players. We are trying now to intervene in such cases. The reaction to the Bosman law is to make long-lasting contracts to keep the players, and then if he wants to leave there is only one solution, he has to pay his contract."

"Modern slavery." Is he serious?

Do you get the sense that Chelsea's hiring of former Portugal boss Luiz Felipe Scolari was simply a move to cause turmoil in Old Trafford?

After all, it was Scolari who fanned the flames of the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer rumors. He would certainly be interested in seeing Chelsea's main rival for the Premier League crown lose its best player. Now it seems his replacement in Portugal is one of Man United's top coaches. Carlos Queiroz, who has been Sir Alex Ferguson's right-hand man for five of the past seven seasons, is set to replace Scolari as manager of the Portguese national team.

Ferguson and Queiroz have won three Premier League titles (2003, 2007 and 2008) together, and Queiroz played a vital role in improving Man United's defensive tactics in recent years. He was also going to be the man who would convince Ronaldo to stay at Old Trafford. Will his departure cause the Red Devils to slip in their quest for a third consecutive league title and a Champions League repeat?

Makes you wonder how many more dominoes Scolari can knock over, doesn't it?