Real Madrid have played their first hand in a game they hope will end with Cristiano Ronaldo beaming in front of the world's press, that famous white shirt in his hands.
If there were any doubts that the Portuguese winger is this year's must-have player at the Santiago Bernabeu, they were blown away in time-honoured fashion yesterday with a four-page splash in the Spanish sports daily Marca, announcing that Madrid's director of football and director of marketing have given the all clear to sign Ronaldo - "even if he costs a fortune".
Marca also claims that Ronaldo has told Madrid officials he is willing to come to the Bernabeu, claiming that a verbal agreement is now in place. "Ronaldo," ran the paper's headline, "says yes to Madrid."
All he needs to do is speak to Alex Ferguson and publicly demand to leave, a step that Marca claim he will make at the end of the season.
With Madrid dependent on Manchester United agreeing to sell - which appears unlikely after the comments earlier this week of United's chief executive, David Gill, that they wanted Ronaldo to stay until 2012 - that pressure from Ronaldo is, the paper conceded, "the key".
The leak marks the beginning of a well-worn path: the signings of Zinedine Zidane, the Brazilian Ronaldo and David Beckham were all launched through strategic leaks to the Madrid sports press - semi-official mouthpieces of the club.
Madrid's plan of action is always the same: first speak to the agent, then the press, then the player and finally the club. This still has a long way to run, but Madrid hope that they can force United's hand - and that of Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes.
It is understood that Madrid have spoken to Mendes about Ronaldo's future and about that of Jose Mourinho - who is on the Bernabeu shortlist for next season and who would welcome the opportunity to work with Ronaldo - should he leave Chelsea.
Mendes has told Madrid that Ronaldo would be keen on a switch to the Bernabeu and Madrid have taken those words at face value. They are keen for their fans to be aware of their approach and are now prepared to push hard in order to make the promise a reality.
Madrid's president Ramon Calderon is under serious pressure after a disappointing season and question marks still hang over the legitimacy of his presidency, which he won only after a judge declared all postal votes null and void. He is also desperate to erase the memory of his broken electoral pledge to sign Kaka, Cesc Fabregas and Arjen Robben.
However, Mendes has had similar conversations with Barcelona, who are also keen to secure the winger, and has told United that he will open negotiations over a new contract. He is prepared to deal with all three sides in order to secure the best deal for his client and it is no coincidence that this story should have broken in the wake of United's declarations that a new contract for Ronaldo was close. The message to United appears to be: don't get cocky. Perhaps someone ought to say the same to Madrid.
Meanwhile, Dong Fangzhou, the China international, has been drafted into Alex Ferguson's squad for tomorrow's match at home to Bolton because there are only 14 senior players available.
Ferguson will also include two more reserves, Tom Heaton and Chris Eagles, to counter an injury list that numbers Louis Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Edwin van der Sar, Darren Fletcher, Mikael Silvestre and Patrice Evra.
Bolton manager Sam Allardyce believes it would be "risky" to recall Kevin Davies against United as the striker has been out with a chipped ankle bone, coinciding with a string of poor results.
