The whole ‘Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Real Madrid’ issue won’t drop from the news, and probably for good reason. When one of the two biggest football stars in the world is suddenly unhappy while throwing only hints around as for the reason, it’s bound to takeover the newsreel in any country that loves and cares about the sport.

So why is one of the biggest Prima Donnas in the sport and in sports sad and unhappy? Well, make your pick. A humoristic version of the whole story was issued by the as usual clever Brooks Peck on Yahoo, but it’s probably a bit deeper and more severe than that. It has to be one of two things – Ronaldo is unhappy with the way he’s treated in the club, or he simply wants more money. Either way, he doesn’t come out looking good.

There’s the possible social issue, and the falling apart of the clique that was formed by Ronaldo, along with Marcelo, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao. The problem might be that Marcelo said somewhere that he thinks Iker Casillas deserved the European and global awards, not Ronaldo or the Barcelona duo, resulting in Ronaldo thinking the squad doesn’t love him enough. Doesn’t matter how successful and rich a person can be, one bad opinion matters and no matter what Ronaldo says, it’s clear he cares about awards and feeling loved by as many people as possible.

Do you comprehend that? One player saying Iker Casillas, pure class of a goalkeeper, player and person, deserves the award causes the number one citizen on the European continent to flip out. Out of all the reasons, I hope that isn’t true.

Another one is also regarding Coentrao, the Portuguese player who is usually in constant battle with Marcelo for a place in the lineup. The Madrid media usually love bashing Coentrao for his mistakes, but Mourinho usually prefers him in the big matches. Marcelo might be a better attacking player, but it is pretty awful when it comes to defense. Mourinho, Coentrao and Ronaldo have the same agent. Coentrao isn’t exactly the most popular player on the team. Do the math.

And then there’s the money issue – Ronaldo just doesn’t think he’s paid enough, making just over $20 million a season from Real Madrid alone. Some tax issues soon coming into affect in Spain which might hurt Real Madrid’s ability to improve his contract is something a man obsessed with superficial signs to prove he’s the most important there is might take to heart. Maybe this whole ‘I’m sad’ act is simply a negotiations tactic, just like Mourinho travelling to check houses in London last season.

Ronaldo did go into the offices and ask to leave the club. As far as we know, that much is true. How much he really means it, that’s too soon to know. A bit more light will probably be shed on the subject during the coming week, international fixtures and all. And we’re waiting to hear what Mourinho, the biggest mouth East of the Atlantic, has to say about the whole affair. Hang around, it’s not going to stop being interesting.