Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80m move is another part of the jigsaw Florentino Perez has in mind for Real Madrid. With Xabi Alonso, David Silva and David Villa also in the president’s sights, Chief Football Writer Paul Fraser looks at how his team is shaping up.

AT A time when Mike Ashley is doing his best to drum up interest in selling Newcastle United for £100m, it would seem improbable that one player can be sold for a figure the Magpies owner would accept for his entire club.

When Real Madrid offered £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo, there was no way Manchester United could refuse. No matter how valuable to Sir Alex Ferguson’s team he maybe, it is sensible to sell Ronaldo for the record-busting fee.

If Ashley can think about selling an entire club, which remains well supported with decent assets, then Ferguson, United and the Glazers running Old Trafford had every right to cash in on a player they paid £12.24m to Sporting Lisbon for six years ago.

As Ferguson considers his options in the transfer market, with Carlos Tevez (£25.5m) and Antonio Valencia (£16-20m) two men likely to take up much of his newly-boosted transfer budget, Real appear to be going from strength to strength.

While Ferguson ponders paying over-inflated fees for a player he had at Old Trafford last season and an exciting Ecuadorian from Wigan, Real try to reinvent the ‘galacticos’ of not too long ago.

This may not be the time to suggest that the departure of Ronaldo will mark the end of United’s domination in the Premier League – remember the day David Beckham left.

But it is a day for the rest of the world to look towards the Bernabeu and consider who might be next.

Real president Florentino Perez’s acquisition of Brazilian Kaka from AC Milan at the start of the week was a signal of intent.

The imminent arrival of Ronaldo enforces the point.

There has been talk that Franck Ribery will follow the pair to Spain, but more likely is that Valencia pair David Silva and David Villa – regarded as the world’s best striker by many – will be lured by Perez.

But where Perez went wrong domestically during the days of Zidane, Figo and Beckham was that defensively they were weak.

This time around, however, coach Manuel Pellegrini already inherits a decent backline.

If Pellegrini can get Kaka, Ronaldo and whoever else to gel quickly, the rest of Europe – including European champions Barcelona – will be left playing catch-up.

How they intend to do that, though, is a different matter entirely.