He's maddening, he’s bewildering, he leaves the footballing fraternity divided over his skills. Some say he’s the best winger in the English Premiership; others agree he’s skilful but in the wrong sport — he should be in the Olympics diving event.

He’s Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, and, as he gears up for the biggest match of his career on Wednesday, he’s embroiled in the biggest controversy of his life. The complicated affair illustrates the flat, multicultural world that is football: A Portuguese winger, an English prodigy, a Dutch striker and the World Cup.

The first signs of the controversy were seen last week when Ronaldo, who signed a fresh five-year contract with United earlier this year, was quoted — at some length — in the Spanish media as saying that he wanted to play for Real Madrid. That didn’t go down well with United boss Alex Ferguson, who had backed Ronaldo over Ruud van Nistelrooy as the two had a series of fights in the past few months. Ferguson went so far as to put the Dutch striker on the transfer list.

Then came the Wayne Rooney incident, a few days later when England faced Portugal on Saturday. On the hour mark Rooney appeared to stamp Ricardo Carvalho below the belt and when the referee seemed to dither on the punishment, Ronaldo apparently went running up and told him it was a red-card offence. Rooney pushed him away and in fact it was probably the second act — raising his hands — that got the England player his red card.

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