MATT LAWTON'S EURO BLOG: The night we got it taped, and Ronaldo's declaration of love for all things Real lost nothing in the translation

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Another chaotic night and a night that, for me, will be memorable for the moment when the one English journalist who was granted access to the interview area returned with what he knew might be dynamite but could not be sure. 'I've got Ronaldo,' he declared. 'But only in Portuguese.'

I suggested he listen to it anyway, informing him using my best Jose Mourinho impression that Real Madrid in Portuguese is, well, Real Madrid. But in the end we had to rely on a Portuguese journalist who was good enough to provide a quick translation.

It turned out that what was on the tape was indeed dynamite. Ronaldo had revealed a desire to leave Manchester United and little more than 10 minutes after filing material for a back-page lead about Luiz Felipe Scolari and Michael Ballack's 'push', it was time to start again. Alas, the nature of newspapers and rapidly changing news.

Getting the picture: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal tells the television cameraman to take a hike after his Euro race is run

The news remains astonishing even if it has been clear for some time that Ronaldo wants out of Old Trafford.

Why leave a club that has just won a European and domestic double? Why leave a league that, for the second time in two years, has occupied three of the four semi-final places in the Champions League?

Money is probably a factor, given that the money on offer from Madrid is thought to be somewhere in the region of £200,000 a week. And then there's the chance to live not so far from Portugal in Spain, and play for arguably the biggest club in the world.

But I still think Ronaldo is a fool for wanting to move on when he's still just 23. He has the chance to remain at United for what will be the final two or three years of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign and remain in a league that, without question, is the most exciting in the world at this moment. A league that next season will have the added attraction of Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chelsea.

Take it from me, son ... but Ronaldo has chosen to turn his back on Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United

I'm sure Scolari's delighted he's off. Just as I'm sure that, deep down, he's now rather looking forward to having Michael Ballack on his side. But Ronaldo has plenty of time to play for a Madrid or a Barcelona. Plenty of time to experience something different.

But is anyone telling him that? Are his advisers telling him that? Now what's five per cent of a four-year deal worth £40million? Of course they're not.

Back in the press room the chaos continued, as did the realisation that we needed to hurry to catch the last train back to Zurich from Basel.

In the end, we actually had time to grab the classic German hotdog and French fries. Not very healthy but, hey, what the hell. Anyway, it turns out they put bags of fries on display so people know what they're offering. And I only know this because I took the display chips thinking they were mine. All I'll say is they were cold and not terribly tasty. In fact I'm not even sure if they were made from potatoes.

And there's me calling Ronaldo an idiot.