Cristiano Ronaldo told Real Madrid what they wanted to hear when he reacted to Portugal’s Euro 2008 exit with a clear indication of what he has in mind for his future.

Ronaldo was careful never to mention the words Real or Madrid when he spoke to reporters in Spanish at the end of the match in Basel but his words still did not leave much to the imagination.

“Everyone knows what I want,” Ronaldo said. “But in the next two or three days you’ll have something new. (I made this decision) some time ago, before this competition. I didn’t want to say anything because we were in competition and these are important decisions.”

Asked about the likelihood of a move, he added: “The possibilities are big but it doesn’t depend on me and because of that I don’t want to talk about it.”

His comments came on the same day a senior Real Madrid figure called on Ronaldo to come out in public and give them an opportunity to start negotiations with the Premier League champions.

If Ronaldo really does want to leave, United may have to accept that the canniest move now would be to get the best deal possible from Real.

The 23-year-old winger’s ineffective performance in Portugal’s 3-2 defeat by Germany might just persuade Alex Ferguson that he is by no means irreplaceable and that 100 million euros or so might give him the chance to build an even better team.

Do you think United should let him go and pocket the cash? And if so, who could they sign to fill Ronaldo’s boots? Barcelona are trying to offload Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto’o and they could comfortably afford all three with that sort of money.

What do you reckon?

PHOTO: Cristiano Ronaldo reacts to Portugal’s 3-2 defeat by Germany at Euro 2008, Basel, June 19, 2008. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

With Vlog on the Pitch regular Jon Bramley away in Vienna, Owen Wyatt has been scouring the land for the perfect replacement and we think he’s found his man in Tony Blair.

The former British prime minister, speaking at the launch of the Beyond Sport initiative, looks a bit nervous about his chances of winning the office sweepstake and reckons Euro 2008 is just about impossible to predict.

Drop us a comment below on Mr Blair’s Vlog performance or anything else Euro 2008 related in the comments below. Even better, record your own video, send us a link and we’ll post it up here.

Kevin Fylan, Ascona

P.S. Owen is the one on the left

For full Euro 2008 coverage from Reuters see here

Owen Wyatt is joined by Luke Smith to discuss the sparkling Dutch performance against Italy. Does the 3-0 win over world champions Italy mark them out as favourites? Germany coach Joachim Loew doesn’t agree, but who are we to argue with our Vlog on the Pitch boys…

Let us know if you think they’re right about the swift counter-attacking Dutch, or if you think they should have waited until Spain’s performance against Russia before going out on a limb…

And if you weren’t in Berne for the fiesta, check out the following video report from Joanna Partridge for a view of the Dutch painting the town Orange.

Click on the video above to see just a few of our correspondents here in Austria and Switzerland giving their views on what to expect at Euro 2008.

At the end of the video we give our predictions on who’s going to win and we’d like you to follow suit. Feel free to upload your own video views somewhere (if you send us the link and we like what we see, we’ll showcase it here) or just let us know who you think is going to win in the comments below.

And yes, you can come back and gloat when all our predictions turn out to be spectacularly wrong.

Kevin Fylan, Ascona

When I was a keen but accident-prone goalkeeper growing up, the one piece of advice all my teachers and coaches used to give was: “Stand up when a player’s coming through on goal, and make yourself as big a target as possible.”

Jens Lehmann took that literally when he came into Germany’s news conference on Wednesday. The 38-year-old keeper, who has taken some stick from the media lately, said: “I’m going to stay standing up and give you all more surface area to aim at.”

Lehmann did look a little jittery when Germany played against Belarus in a recent friendly but he now says he’ll be fully concentrated, after finally sorting out his future with a move to VfB Stuttgart.

The big problem for Lehmann and the rest of the keepers at Euro 2008 could be the ball, which most people expect to move around quite a bit in the flight and hang in the air too much for comfort on crosses. (See here for a field test at Soccerlens).

There are some good goalies at the tournament, Lehmann among them (although I actually wouldn’t mind seeing young Rene Adler get a chance at some stage). Petr Cech and Gianluigi Buffon are obviously outstanding but if I had to single out one I’d choose Iker Casillas. If Spain are finally going to do something at a big tournament like this they’ll need him at his best, which is very good indeed.

Who’s your pick for the best keeper of Euro 2008?

Kevin Fylan, with the German squad in Ascona, Switzerland

Henk Ten Cate’s sacking by Chelsea won’t make the headlines that greeted the departures of Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant, but it could be significant in Spain as well as in England.

Ten Cate, the 53-year-old Dutchman, was little known in Barcelona when he was appointed as Frank Rijkaard’s assistant in 2003. He soon won a reputation as a hard taskmaster in training and a disciplinarian when it came to man management. He was also praised as a clever tactician but he was content to keep a low profile in the media.

When he left to take over at Ajax in 2006, after the Champions League final win over Arsenal, a few columnists noted how Barcelona would miss him, but it’s fair to say his exit was hardly mourned by the public.

They certainly miss him now.

There’s an article on the El Mundo Deportivo website this mourning noting his departure from Chelsea and just about every comment says the same thing — Please, please, please can he come back to Barcelona.

It’s not hard to see why the fans are aching for his return. In the two years since he’s been gone Barcelona have become a shambles. Senior players like Samuel Eto’o came out to criticise the coach and Ronaldinho appeared to lose all motivation as the club’s internal discipline went to pot. It’s hard to see Ten Cate tolerating all that.  

The question now is whether Barcelona’s new coach Pep Guardiola will want him at his side, and if so, whether Barcelona will be able to persuade him back. If they can, Chelsea’s decision to sack him might turn out be the best news Barca have heard in two years.

As for Chelsea, I wonder if this makes it more or less likely that Rijkaard will be their new coach. What do you reckon?

PHOTO: Ten Cate holds up the European Cup during Barcelona’s Champions League celebrations, May 18, 2006. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

Join vlogmeister Owen Wyatt as he goes to the London College of Communication to seek opinions on Wayne Rooney’s role for England.

The 2-0 win over the United States was probably England’s best performance under Fabio Capello, and Steven Gerrard certainly had a good game, but there seems to be a common feeling that the Italian is not getting the best out of Rooney.

Should Capello be building his team around Rooney? Is it a case of Rooney trying to do too much for the team when he should be being more selfish? Or do you expect it all to come right again when he recovers from the effects of a long season?

Fabio Capello has named John Terry as captain for England’s friendly against the United States on Wednesday, which may be some slim consolation for that penalty miss in the Champions League final.

Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard have previously held the captaincy under Capello. who will presumably make a decision on who gets the job on a long-term basis before England start their qualifying campaign for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

Owen Wyatt was at Capello’s news conference this morning and he’d like your views on who the Italian should go for. Personally, I’m beginning to think Owen Hargreaves might be the man for the job — he can take a mean penalty, at least — but I’m sure you’ll have plenty of other ideas. Let us know in the comments, or with a video blog of your own.

Chelsea have acted quickly and some might say ruthlessly to their Champions League final defeat by Manchester United, opting on Saturday to sack Avram Grant.

There is no explanation on the Chelsea Web site, but then again none is really needed, I suppose. When you spend so much money on putting together the best team you possibly can, you don’t really want to settle for second place, do you?

I personally feel a bit sorry for Grant. I don’t know him at all, but he came across as a very likeable chap in his dealings with the press at the Champions League final. I particularly liked his parting shot to the media on the eve of the final: “I know you all care about me because you’re always asking if I’m going to stay or go,” he said.

But what do you think? Was this is an inevitable reaction to the defeat (as well as the player unrest that’s bubbling away), or did Grant deserve a chance to build his own team rather than doing the best he could with what Mourinho had left him?

And who on earth are Chelsea going to sign as his replacement? There’s a rumour in Italy that Mancini might be about to announce that he’s standing down. Maybe it’ll be Mourinho to Inter and Mancini to Chelsea…?

PHOTO: Avram Grant leaves the pitch after Chelsea’s Champions League final defeat by Manchester United,  May 22, 2008. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

A little after half past one on a rainy night in Moscow, Edwin van der Sar leapt to his right to save the 14th penalty of a nerve-shredding shoot-out and clinch victory for Manchester United in the Champions League final against Chelsea.

The Dutchman’s save spared Cristiano Ronaldo, who had earlier missed a penalty, what would surely have been the worst night of his sporting life and won the European Cup for United for the third time.

While United were celebrating, it was heartbreaking for Chelsea, and particularly for John Terry, who slipped just as he was taking the penalty that could have given his side victory.

More from Moscow later, but for now let us know your thoughts. Did the best team win? Or after hitting the post and the bar can Chelsea feel they just endured rotten luck? And what was Ronaldo thinking of with that penalty… Let us know in the comments. 

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Edwin Van der Sar holds the trophy as his team mates celebrate after winning their UEFA Champions League final soccer match against Chelsea at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow May 22, 2008. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh