Though the market has yet to reach the stage where Ronaldo is free to march off to Madrid without compensation for United, his personal desire bears parallel to Nicolas Anelka's move from Arsenal to the Bernabéu nine summers ago.

Wenger: 'Contract-wise, the club is always in a weaker position,

'Why? Because clubs only have the security of a player now for three years. And that's why, when a player is in his second year, it's difficult. You are in a weak situation as a club.

'OK, you can think, "I can leave this guy here if he sulks and play him in the reserves." But it doesn't work. It's a good solution in theory, but on a daily basis it's impossible. That's why, in the end, I said I will only sell Anelka if he says to me, "I want to leave". What can you do with a player who doesn't want to stay?

'After two years you have to renegotiate your contract because after three years the player can move out.

'You give longer contracts because it offers a little bit of protection for the player to have to pay compensation if he moves after three years - if you give a player a five-year contract and he moves after three, he has to pay two years' [wages].

'But, after two years, you have to re-negotiate with the player because he can move the next season; you have no choice. For me, this measure is inflationary. Why? Because after two years you have to sit down with the player, whether he has played well or not, or you will lose him.

'You can never get him to sign an extension to his contract for less - that means you will always have to increase his salary. They have created a situation where inflation goes through the roof.

'In the past, you signed and you were there for life.

'Then you have seen Bosman coming in, then Webster. It looks like the balance goes always towards the player. And if you go to appeal, there is no protection any more. At the moment, after 28 you need only two years.

'I see the next thing coming is people saying, "Why is it 28 and not 27? That's age discrimination. Why do we have to wait two years after 28 and three years before?"

'If it goes down to two as well, you go from one extreme to the other. It could mean the disappearance of transfer fees.

'You would want Ronaldo to stay and Kaká to come to England.

'It looks for me that the financial dominance of England in the last three or four years has been rebalanced. Italy was knocked down and has recovered. Spain has moved up. Financially it will be more difficult to dominate as we have done in the last few years. Football dominance is linked with economic dominance. You have to give more money to the player who has played in Italy or he doesn't move.

'I don't want Ronaldo to leave, not at all. I'm for stability.'