There was little weeping and wailing in the sunshine and showers today along the Sir Matt Busby Way at Cristiano Ronaldo’s imminent departure.

Fans posing for photographs under the statue of Manchester United legendary triumvirate, Best, Law and Charlton, outside the Old Trafford ground paid tribute to the player they regard as the best in the world.

But they largely accepted that his career at Manchester United had run its course.

They pointed to a showboating, ineffectual performance in the club’s Champions League final defeat against Barcelona as evidence that he was, on occasion, not always a team player. He could often behave, they admitted, as a petulant brat.

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Steve Allen, 51, a lifelong United fan, said: “A player of that talent will always score goals wherever he goes. That is obvious but United like team players. He has certainly shown in the Champions League final that he wanted to do it on his own.

“He did not have a good game. He seemed to be trying to make a point that he was the best player in the world but, in my opinion, it certainly did didn’t work for him that night, and the club suffered because of that”.

Mr Allen said that he, along with other fans, will miss Ronaldo’s brilliant unpredictability and his “ability to thrill”.

“You never knew what he was going to do next,” he said. “The problem was his team mates often did not know either”.

Many fans suggested that the £80 million price tag for a player that only cost £12 million as a raw talent represented good business. One said they will enjoy seeing Sir Alex Ferguson, the coach, spending the cash.

Adam Griffiths, 17, a United fan, travelled from Stoke-on-Trent to join fans outside the ground.

He said: “I am a bit gutted because he was one of the best players in the world. But if he wants to leave, as he said he did, then it is up to him.

“We are still one of the world’s best teams. If he wanted to go, then he should be allowed to do so. It is not the end of the world”.

Andy Mitten, the editor of the popular Manchester United fanzine, United We Stand, said that fans have had a long time to become used to the idea of Ronaldo as a Real Madrid player.

“I am not entirely surprised,” he said. “It is a huge amount of money. The deal was probably done last summer.

“Ronaldo is not as popular with the fans now as he was a year ago. Clearly he is an outstanding player but there will not be protesters on the streets of Manchester over this.

“I am not at all distraught because we put absolute faith in Sir Alex Ferguson. Real Madrid have had eight coaches in five years. Sir Alex Ferguson has been in place since 1986. I would much rather have him in charge than Cristiano Ronaldo in the team.

“People should acknowledge that Ronaldo is a fantastic player but if he does not want to stay what is the point of keeping him? Ferguson is the man not Ronaldo.”