Amid the frenzy over Ronaldo’s impending departure, it is bound to be asked whether the current debt hanging over United of almost £700m has played any part in the decision to accept Real’s huge bid.

While Ferguson has always backed the Glazer family for the support he has received, fans will now be interested in whether their veteran manager is handed all the funds from Spain, plus an annual transfer kitty said to be around £25m.

With Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville all reaching the end of their careers, it promises to be a far more testing summer than Ferguson might have realised.

And, for all the petulance and pouting for which Ronaldo is so famed, filling the void created by the loss of his undoubted proven talent may prove difficult.

The 24-year-old Portuguese winger, the current FIFA World Player of the Year, had been close to signing for the Spanish giants last year. But Ferguson had seemingly convinced him to stay at Old Trafford.

But after losing out in the Champions League final to Barcelona, and with Madrid's new president Florentino Perez willing to splash his cash – Ferguson finally relented.