Cristiano Ronaldo showing why Real Madrid can't sell him this summer

Cristiano Ronaldo showing why Real Madrid can't sell him this summer

Pete Jenson says Cristiano Ronaldo gave a timely reminder of his quality against Roma in the Champions League.

It was fascinating to watch Cristiano Ronaldo rage against the supposedly flowery friendships of Barcelona forwards Leo Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez this week, protesting that he never said more than 'good morning' to half the Manchester United squad and yet they still won the Champions League.

While he has a point that on-the-field understanding is far more important than off-the-field book club sessions and Come Dine With Me nights, he missed the broader truth that in any profession it’s better to be surrounded by friends than enemies and for his autumn years at Real Madrid – if that is where they are to be – he will need amigos to make them as long and prosperous as possible.

Two old friends were on hand in Rome to make sure Ronaldo was the main event in the Olympic Stadium as Real Madrid came away with a 2-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 fixture: Marcelo and Zinedine Zidane.

The Brazilian full-back has long been the greatest source of Ronaldo goals and it was his pass into space that set Ronaldo on his way to break the deadlock and set the tone for the tie.

When he buried the chance he ran to Zidane, who knows all about the pressures of being the greatest, and the even greater pressure of having been the greatest and now facing steady decline.

Zidane – who can do anything at Madrid because of who he is – even got away with substituting Ronaldo with two minutes left. They were the first minutes of Madrid’s Champions League campaign that he had missed all season. Perhaps they should not be the last.

Zidane knows the worth of taking a break, of going slower to get further. If at the end of the season Real Madrid have resigned themselves to missing out on La Liga again and Zizou rests Ronaldo in the league so he is as feisty and fighting-fit for a Champions League semi-final as he was on Wednesday, then he will get away with it.

In his favoured inside-left position, with his friend Marcelo behind him and Zidane teaching him to coast through some training sessions, sit out some games, and so be 100 per cent for the matches that will define the season, Ronaldo can still be essential to Madrid's chances of success and it could well be worth them turning down all offers to take him this summer.

Still, Madrid have history for moving on big players. Luis Figo was ushered out the door when he did not really want to go; Iker Casillas went the same way; and Angel Di Maria was sold just three months after he had been man of the match in the Champions League final as Madrid beat Atletico 4-1 in extra-time. If Real Madrid thought bringing Robert Lewandowski to the club would cost them Ronaldo then they would seriously consider selling the Portuguese – all-time top scorer or not.

Football Leaks reminded us this week why Di Maria suddenly became surplus. It appears that James Rodridguez earns €7.7m euros (£6m) gross. Di Maria wanted €10m as part of new improved deal that, as a Champions League winner, he felt he deserved. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez believed that James would be as good as Di Maria but play for over €2m less a year. So he signed him and sold the Argentine.

Football Leaks also has Toni Kroos earning €10.9m gross, Bale €10m net, and says that David De Gea would have grossed €11.8m. Rodriguez is, in Galatico terms, ‘cheap’. If they start believing that, on an estimated €17m a season, Ronaldo is ‘expensive’ then they will manoeuvre him towards the exit.

But every time it feels that he is becoming a player who does not score in the big games or on the road, or is becoming someone who only imposes himself in games where Real Madrid bully a visiting side whose entire squad earns around half of Ronaldo’s salary, he proves people wrong.

He reminded Real Madrid on Wednesday that he remains their best route to goal, and for as long as goals remain the greatest commodity in football he remains worth keeping. Even at €17m a season. He can go on being worth the money... with a little bit of help from his friends.