Does Cristiano Ronaldo still refer to Real Madrid as “my dream”? He may well have been wincing after the evidence of Tuesday’s nightmarish show against Liverpool. Ponderous, ill-disciplined and lacking in quality, Real Madrid showed why their supposed grandeur is now shrouded by delusion.

Another Champions League failure to follow a series of post-2002 flops; each one reflecting diminishing returns. Since Zinedine Zidane’s thumping volley in Glasgow to lift the trophy, the club has been through a litany of managers, all of whom have failed to repeat the stoic stability of Vicente Del Bosque, whose enforced exit in the summer of 2003 made Roman Abramovich look slow on the draw. Big signings have been and gone, with David Beckham personifying a pattern of players being relinquished when Real has flogged what they think is the best out of them.

On Wednesday, Ronaldo came up against Luis Figo, his friend and idol, another man shown the door by the Castillan club once they’d had their use of him. He could tell his younger compatriot the way in which Los Meringues chew up players and spit them out. Figo and his galactico counterparts could tell Ronaldo the way in which Real’s buying of big names at the expense of squad strength made them a team who long looked burned out and lacking in structure.

Ronaldo’s performance against Inter Milan was one of unusual discipline. Choosing to hold his position and then pass the ball when he might usually fancy one of his pyrotechnic solos, he showed his ability to be a team player. Perhaps he is first violinist in the orchestra yet his clinching goal came as a result of interplay between Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs, two virtuoso players who know there is no “I“ in team. At Real Madrid, on the evidence of the play of Arjen Robben and Gonzalo Higuain, Ronaldo would be expected to create openings for himself, while conducting the entire ensemble at the same time.

Ronaldo looked fresh at Old Trafford, feeling the benefit of a weekend rest as his team-mates demolished Fulham. He was afforded relaxation time rarely granted to Real’s top stars. The haunted visage and slowing limbs of Raul, who one can barely believe is just 32, shows the corroding effects of overplaying a young star. Giggs, at 35, looks as alert as in his youth and his technical gifts remain as apparent as ever. He has been protected by his manager, the same manager, proof that stability is the ideal fertilising agent for a fruitful career. Raul must have lost count of the amount of coaches he has played under as his career ebbs away, never looking like it can relive the glory of his early 20s.

Raul was a key man in Real’s return to the top table of the European game when his club won the European Cup for the first time in 32 years in 1998. He was again prominent in 2000 and also in 2002, as Real reclaimed the throne of Europe’s most aristocratic club. They had made it nine continental titles. Ten, however, looks a remote possibility in the next few years.

The club’s elections are coming soon, always a mine of speculation and unkept promises. Ronaldo will be at its epicentre, especially if Fiorentino Perez, lord of the galacticos, comes back into prominence.

Ronaldo, should United choose to cash in and grant him his wish of last summer, can become the club’s new figurehead. That is no guarantee of success. Even in Spain, Barcelona are in possession of Lionel Messi and a raft of attacking talent which plays in front of a midfield who have been brought through the club in a fashion similar to that at United; trusted yet not overexposed.

Which manager would he be working for? Juande Ramos’ goose was surely cooked on Merseyside and there is no outstanding candidate. Benitez looks likely to stay at Anfield. Mourinho may want away from Inter - and even be shown the door - yet his default setting is even more defensive than that of Fabio Capello, ridiculously sacked after winning Real’s first title in four years for not winning it in enough style.

At 24, Ronaldo has reached the peak of the world game under the protection of a club and manager who have been prepared to wait for him to flourish. They have encouraged him through the difficult third album this season has been. At Real Madrid, a club where "impatience through adversity" is surely a secret motto, he will not be granted such levity.

Nor would he playing for a team as good as the one he currently does. Not anytime soon, on the evidence of Anfield.