Real Madrid Transfer News: Cristiano Ronaldo Must Stay After Angel Di Maria Loss

Losing two of the opening three games of the season is a misfortune that can hamper any side.

Preparations might not have gone well, players might be a little jaded after a major tournament and opposition teams can often perform at their best when motivation peaks in the early knockings of the campaign.

Subsequently, defeats happen.

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But when you’re Real Madrid and you’ve lost consecutive games in the wake of the sales of two key players, that simply won’t do.

And somewhat worryingly for Madridistas, the latest murmurings coming out of the Santiago Bernabeu are that another vital player—undeniably, their most vital player—could follow Angel di Maria and Xabi Alonso out of the Spanish capital.

According to reports, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to end his stay with the European champions and move back to the Premier League, where he’d pocket a staggering £500,000 per week at Manchester United or Chelsea, per Rob Shepherd of the Mail Online.

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Fuel has been added to those reports by The Sun's Antony Kastrinakis on Sky Sports’ Sunday Supplement, who insisted the Portuguese forward is far from pleased with Los Blancos’ summer dealings, per Sky Sports:

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He had a go at [Real president] Florentino Perez about two weeks ago for selling Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso just a week before the season started.

A bizarre decision – they’re hot favourites to retain their title and the Champions League, the first team to do that in the new format. And now, two defeats in the league.

Ronaldo’s attack came just before the international break when they lost 4-2 at Real Sociedad. The collapse there sparked a massive debate – the debate whether they should have sold Di Maria to United and certainly Alonso to Bayern Munich.

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Indeed, during Madrid’s recent defeats to Real Sociedad and then in El Derbi to Atletico Madrid, the team have lacked an intensity and balance in the midfield areas. Attributes both Di Maria and Alonso provided in spades during Carlo Ancelotti’s maiden campaign in charge, which ended with a 10th European Cup triumph.

And you can bet Madrid supporters will be putting those performances into contrast with United’s first game at Old Trafford since Di Maria signed, in which the Argentine was sensational, as noted here by Sam Pilger of FourFourTwo:

Alonso has also been superb for Bayern since he joined up; Madrid look to be missing his influence massively, as noted here by Football_Tweet:

Of course, there's little Real can do now after sanctioning the sales of those two aforementioned players and the men brought in to replace them—Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez—are both massive talents who will find their feet in time. But the club must cut short any speculation about Ronaldo following suit.

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Ronaldo remains the most important player in this Real Madrid setup. And even though he’s approaching his 30th birthday, there’s is still plenty he can offer in the latter stages of his career.

But in the here and now, the former Red Devils man is one of the most fearsome forwards on the planet, and one who can drag this Madrid team up from its knees and to glory come the current campaign's end.

Here's why he's so vital to Madrid's cause:

Granted, Ronaldo has teased a potential United return recently, per Mark Ogden of The Telegraph, but it’s something he’s flippantly mentioned in the past on myriad occasions. Nonetheless, the Old Trafford faithful would certainly love to have him back, as noted here by BarcaJim:

At this juncture, though, Madrid simply cannot entertain the notion of losing their talisman.

After Di Maria walked out the door and Alonso slipped out behind, there seems to be a dearth of midfield leaders on this Madrid team. The Argentine would shoulder the responsibility by surging forward with endeavour while Alonso would take the game by the scruff of his neck with astute playmaking.

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Ronaldo's potential exit would compound those misgivings further. If he went, who’d be the player who’d pull Madrid out of a hole when they’re in trouble? Who'd galvanise the rest of team into a reaction when they're struggling? At the moment, the candidates are few and far between.

Admittedly, if a team was to come in with an offer of circa £50 million for Ronaldo, you can see why there’d be a temptation to sell. He’s given the club excellent service after all. And for a player not far off the twilight of his career, there’d be few monetary gains to be made if Los Blancos did decide to cash in a few years further down the line.

But Real Madrid have always been a club that go about their business with relatively short-term aspirations. And even if Ronaldo is keen on a romantic reunion with United, Los Blancos must cling onto their prize asset a lot more firmly than they did with Di Maria and Alonso.

If they don't, all of a sudden, a few misguided sales can quickly become a dangerous precedent.