High Time for FIFA to Show Some Backbone over Cristiano Ronaldo Affair

As Cristiano Ronaldo elegantly danced through the Turkish defense on the grass of Geneva this evening, there was precious little indication of the furor that presently surrounds him.

This already-tiresome transfer saga will doubtless rumble on alongside the European Championship competition that will define his next career destination, furious off-field speculation running parallel to the winger's on-field wizardry.

With the revelation that Manchester United intend to report Ronaldo's suitors Real Madrid to the game's world governing body, FIFA, this sordid affair assumes a futile political dimension.

Quite succinctly, nothing will be achieved by protest to FIFA, nor should we expect anything to be achieved. Instead of mutually-satisfactory resolution, we will get bureaucratic confusion.

No example springs to memory of FIFA jurisdiction over transfer controversies having previously meant anything, even when the most hostile of player approaches, as with this instance, comes under scrutiny.

United would merely be squandering time, money, and effort to attain absolutely nothing, while simultaneously their most gifted player is reeled through the exit door.

By the time FIFA's clunky administrative cogs whirred into action, Ramon Calderon would most likely have landed his prize catch, leaving United powerless and incandescent with frustration.

There would be no expulsion from the Champions League, no deduction of La Liga points, no financial sanctions... simply a rap on the knuckles, and an awkward word of farewell.

FIFA has long been eclipsed by the financial muscle of Europe's elite, an embarrassment of riches, which invariably equates to influence and intimidation.

The tremendous fortunes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid cast an uneasy shadow inside football's corridors of power, and when two of these juggernauts collide, the implications tower well above FIFA's control.

United would be better off reaping the harvest of Ronaldo's bounteous season, haul in the £75 million, and commit the funds towards talented reinforcements in all areas of the pitch.

Unfortunately, such is football that the Ronaldo affair is destined to run and run, this and this alone is the only certainty about it.