Cristiano Ronaldo and Chelsea? There is a spark amongst all that smoke. And it's been lit in Madrid.
Ronaldo in Chelsea Blue? This isn't the stuff of fantasy football. The pieces are quietly falling into place.
It broke last week that Roman Abramovich saw Real Madrid's No7 as the man to build his new Chelsea team around. A €100 million offer was mentioned. And adding credence to the story is that it isn't coming out of Fleet Street, but Madrid - and from one of Real's chief media backers, AS.
Which is where everything suddenly becomes very interesting.
The thought of a major Madrid newspaper readily running with a story about Real splitting with their No1 player - without rock solid sources - is doubtful. But when you consider that there's the El Clasico and a date with Barcelona this month... the prospect is inconceivable. Unless, of course, there is the genuine possibility of a parting of ways in 2016.
If you're in the camp of Florentino Perez, the Real president, you'll have spent the weekend fuming. There's some great footage of Florentino confronting Ronaldo before their Champions League tie with PSG a fortnight ago (see below). The president demanded an explanation from his star after Ronaldo refused to rule out leaving Real in an interview that week. Ronaldo, of course, protested his innocence.
But then came his film premiere and the promotions around it. Time and again this past week, Ronaldo was asked about a return to Manchester United. And in every response, the door was left wide open. Florentino may've enjoyed the image of putting his multi-millionaire star in his place. But since then, CR7 has made the president look a right mug.
So, on the day he taped his interview with Jonathan Ross, where again he talked up the Premier League and his love of United, it was breaking in Madrid that Abramovich was preparing a 2016 raid on Real to bring the Portuguese back to England. Coincidence?
Florentino is concerned about Ronaldo's form. The goals are still flowing, but the performances have come in fits and starts. For some, the lack of consistency comes from Ronaldo butting heads with coach Rafa Benitez and his playing system. For others, including some inside the boardroom, the now 30 year-old is simply on the decline.
In England, an offer from Abramovich will include Eden Hazard moving in the opposite direction. And tribalfootball.com has been informed if the cash component is right, it's a deal Florentino would accept. Despite Hazard's lacklustre displays this season, Zinedine Zidane, who still has the ear of the president, has assured Florentino this is only a blip. Like with Raphael Varane, the Castilla coach is Hazard's most vocal fan inside Real - and his opinion continues to carry much weight.
In London, while Abramovich will see Ronaldo's arrival purely from the perspective of trophies and marketing, it would be a masterstroke for the club also in terms of leadership. If John Terry is to be fazed out in the second-half of this season - and with Frank Lampard already gone - who better to set the tone for a new culture at Cobham than CR7? There would be no greater example in the game available to Chelsea's youth and junior players.
It's not only Terry who will leave in June. Branislav Ivanovic is also likely to go, just 12 months after Petr Cech's departure to Arsenal. Chelsea will need to find someone to fill the vacuum. Say what you like about Ronaldo's ego, but to set the standard of what Chelsea must aspire to, Abramovich will not find anyone better.
But what of Manchester United? Well, this is where Jorge Mendes enters the room.
We know the super agent has already once tried and failed to place Ronaldo back at Old Trafford. That came last January, when he made contact with Louis van Gaal, the United manager, about the prospect of his client rejoining in the summer. But the Dutchman's response was an abrupt 'no' - which didn't go down well with Mendes.
Chelsea have been down this road before. It's Cesc Fabregas and Arsene Wenger all over again. Mendes will follow the same route, making it abundantly clear to reporters that Ronaldo was offered to United, but the manager didn't want him. United fans will accept it. Chelsea fans will love it. And the path will be clear for Ronaldo to takeover the Blue No7 shirt from Hazard.
And what should excite the Blues faithful is if Ronaldo does arrive, he won't be alone. There will be guarantees locked into the deal negotiated by Marina Granovskaia that the Portuguese will be joining a team built to win the Champions League.
“In my mind I want to finish in the top level, I want to finish with dignity so in a good club," Ronaldo told Jonathan Ross.
Which are just the words Abramovich is seeking from a player who'll fit the Russian's new-look Chelsea like a glove.
INJURY TIME
So if Cristiano Ronaldodoes make the move to Chelsea, where does that leave Jose Mourinho?
The answer? It would be in Cobham.
The groundwork is already being laid. Ronaldo has on multiple occasions in recent weeks spoke highly of his former Real Madrid coach and the potential of working with him again.
All that tension between the pair in the final months of Mourinho's reign at the Santiago Bernabeu is now - apparently - a distant memory.
“I would put him at the top, I always say that," said Ronaldo two weeks ago.
He also backed Mourinho to "make Chelsea fans happy again" before also stating just this week: "Work with Mourinho again? Why not?"
Both men share the same agent, Jorge Mendes, and trust him implicitly. If Mendes says it's a deal that can work for both of them, it will happen.
From Ronaldo's words in recent weeks, we could already be witnessing the foundations of one of the most exciting transfers in Premier League history being put in place.
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