I will bring Ronaldo to United – Van Gaal

If Ronaldo does decide to leave the club, he is not likely to be short of possible suitors with both Paris Saint-Germain and former club Manchester United both consistently linked with move for the Madeira-born star.

Thirty-year-old Ronaldo was brought to Real Madrid from Old Trafford in July 2009 for 80 million pounds. I think we played the flawless game in every aspect.

Paul Scholes has been famously critical of Manchester United’s style of play under Louis van Gaal, and once more took aim at the club – more specifically, at midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger – on BT Sport prior to United’s 2-1 win over Watford. “But these players are mostly ungettable”, the Dutchman was quoted as saying by several British newspapers yesterday. Ronaldo will be hoping to be amongst the goals this weekend as Real Madrid host Barcelona in El Clasico.

“My plan when I first started playing football was to try to reach the pinnacle – and Real Madrid is the pinnacle”, he told the Mirror.

But with the team that van Gaal has built in the last 18 months is there space for an egotistical, selfish goalscoring machine?

By contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo’s contribution to Real Madrid can’t be questioned, at least until recent weeks.

The Portugal forward has won one La Liga title, Champions League and two Spanish Cup titles in his six years at Santiago Bernabéu.

The 30-year-old has 13 goals in 16 appearances for Madrid this season, although eight of those came in consecutive matches against Espanyol and Shakhtar in September. The way his career has gone, everything that happens around him becomes the Ronaldo show. It’s not the free-wheeling Manchester United of old. I have to say after the penalty, I thought we gave it away but then you see the spirit of the game.

Van Gaal has fuelled the rumour mill about a move for Ronaldo, by publicly announcing his interest in the player. “The money was unlimited and it is an up and coming idea as a club”.

United midfielder Jesse Lingard, 23, is to discuss a new deal that could see him double his wages to £50,000-a-week. Madrid feels like Ronaldo will only retain huge value if the team sells him in January or in the summer.

“As I understand it, Ronaldo was irked by that from the beginning”. But I am enjoying my time here.