Will Ronaldo help Real Madrid become the greatest club team ever?
Now that the 45 million euros transfer saga of Ronaldo moving to Real Madrid has finally been resolved, many Spanish pundits are asking, "What next?"
Now that the 45 million euros transfer saga of Ronaldo moving to Real Madrid has finally been resolved, many Spanish pundits are asking, "What next?"
Opinion was sharply divided into two camps, with some believing that that the current generation will outshine even that of Di Stefano, Gento, Kopa and Puskas which won five consecutive European crowns between 1956 and 1960.
Others were more sanguine in their view, with Ronaldo's arrival likely to disrupt the dressing room harmony that took Real to a record ninth European crown in May.
"The arrival of Ronaldo is the final piece in the jigsaw that will convert Real Madrid into the best club side ever," commented an editorial in the Spanish sports daily As on Sunday.
"The best team of all time?" asked fellow Spanish sports daily Marca before suggesting that the present Real Madrid could exceed all the feats accomplished by its counterparts more than 40 years ago.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez clearly believes the Brazilian World Cup star can go into the annals of football history alongside the legendary Santiago Bernabeu, who was the club president in its other glorious epoch during the 1950s.
"With the arrival of Ronaldo, I think we have regained all the elements of the side that was named the greatest club team of the 20th century," added the normally undemonstrative Perez.
Ferenc Puskas, speaking to Spanish reporters in Budapest on the occasion of his recent testimonial match between Spain and Hungary, was in no doubt about the impact that Ronaldo will have on Real Madrid.
"He's one of the world's great strikers. He can only help Real Madrid," said Puskas.
However, Ronaldo's arrival may not necessarily push Real Madrid to further greatness, and only succeed in pushing some noses out of joint.
None are more likely to feel threatened than Spanish international striker Fernando Morientes, one of the stars of a World Cup campaign which saw the Spaniards reach the quarter-finals before a controversial departure.
Morientes is staying at the club for the moment after his transfer to bitter rivals Barcelona collapsed late on Saturday.
He will hang onto his number nine shirt, with Ronaldo being given the number 11 vacated by his fellow Brazilian Savio following his sale to French club Bordeaux.
But he may struggle to keep his place in the starting lineup once Ronaldo is match fit, which the former World Player of the Year expects to be by the end of this month.
Perez tried to placate Morientes on Sunday, saying that room would be found for the man who scored 18 goals in the Spanish first division last season.
"It's natural that he feels affected by all that's been going on but he's never created problems and has always behaved in an exemplary fashion," said Perez.
Other players who could be affected include Flavio Conceicao, Pedro Munitis and the young defensive pair of Oscar Minambres and Raul Bravo, who are both products of Real's youth system.
All four could end up as possible makeweights in the deal which means that Perez must pay Inter 35 million euros now and the remainder in cash or players in December.
Nevertheless, several commentators have pointed out that Bernabeu's Real Madrid of the 1950s wasn't always a particularly happy place to be.
Superstars such as Puskas and Di Stefano hogged the headlines from the lesser lights and in the days when egos were less likely to be assuaged with huge financial rewards, there was considerable bitterness over the preferential treatment the top players received.