Anytime there is some sort of controversy regarding Real Madrid, the first thing that the entire world hears is that Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing to leave.

And most of the time Manchester United crops up in the conversation.

And with Real Madrid in its worst form in a long time, and especially after the superstar was knocked out by his rival Lionel Messi, the word has gotten out that Ronaldo is probably leaving soon. And Manchester is the supposed destination.

But it is not the Manchester you are expecting.

"I know that the players at Manchester City were talking very, very firmly that they believed there was a successful move coming from that club over the last couple of weeks," said reporter Graham Hunter, according to ESPN.

That big move is supposed to be the one that swoops Ronaldo for Manchester City.

It would honestly be of little surprise to see the English side make a coup such as that one. On one hand, the team is now in win mode and, based on its form in recent weeks, the window for trophies in 2014-15 has evaporated. So a quick fix in 2015-16 is of the essence with many vital players in their primes. The youngest player on the current starting XI is 26-year-old Sergio Aguero; that tells you everything you need to know about where this team is headed.

So Ronaldo, at age 30, is a perfect addition to this side. Assuming of course that he remains the goalscoring threat that he has been for the first half of this season.

Ronaldo, of course, knows the rigors of the Premier League and would be able to adapt, but the questions still beckon.

How will the superstar deal with the problematic and chronic knee trouble in a more physical league like England's? Will he still be a goalscoring demon next season when he this 31 or is this the beginning of his decline? And most importantly, would he betray his beloved Manchester United by joining its crosstown rival?

The first question is hard to answer because no one knows the full extent of Ronaldo's physical issues. If he is currently playing hurt and that is the cause for his struggles, he has not used it as an excuse. As for the goal scoring, it is possible that Ronaldo is finished scoring 50 goals in a single season; he could still be a useful 30-40 goal scorer however. Ronaldo passed the 40-goal threshold only once in his Premier League career; that came in 2007-08 when he put up 42 goals in 49 games. Since arriving in Spain, Ronaldo has averaged a goal per game or more in four of his six seasons; the lone exceptions came in 2009-10 and 2010-11 when he scored 33 goals in 35 games and 53 goals in 54 games respectively (those numbers average out to 0.94 goals per game in 2009-10 and 0.98 goals per game in 2010-11).

But the final question is really the one that changes everything. By joining Manchester City, would Ronaldo feel that he is betraying the first English side that he ever played for? Based on his many comments on the possibility of returning to the Old Trafford, it is likely he feels like a traitor if he opts for sky blue instead of the Red Devils.

But the other big question is Real Madrid. Does the Spanish side feel the need to sell its biggest star? It is possible that the team feels Ronaldo is on a decline and that it might be best to cash in on him at this moment in time. This might relieve the tension revolving around Gareth Bale's situation with the club. But only the club knows where Ronaldo is headed, if anywhere, next season.