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Headed for the U.S.? Ronaldo may be coming to MLS sooner than you think

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The drums are still pounding here as Brazil won the Beach Soccer World Cup, and there are plenty of things to talk about. The 330-pound guy behind me banging a drum. Bikini-clad women on Copacabana beach. Carnaval. Even Barry Manilow, who just performed here.

But I was among a bunch of journalists who were chatting with French legend Eric Cantona, who coached France to the beach title last year, the first time FIFA oversaw this tournament. The topic of conversation? Ronaldo.

"Oh, le petit Ronaldo," Cantona said. "One day Rio, the next Holland. A star in Catalonia, an idol in Italy and a god in Spain. And he is ready to discover l'Amerique!"

I have to take Cantona at his word. The man knows too much; he lights up when he's talking about Ronaldo. And the final chapter for one of Brazil's most famous players of all-time is set to be written. New York awaits him.

The next step, after being called a "non-athlete" by his coach and having almost certainly lost his place on the Brazilian national team, seems to be America. "The one and only place I feel normal, common, me," he said to me after the 2002 World Cup in one of the many private talks I've had with him. "Where I can walk and be myself, doing what I want."

Knowing Ronaldo as a man, not as a player, there is no doubt in my mind that America is the place he dreams about, ever since he first visited. It's New York he loves most, the first U.S. city where he felt a connection. And it's the city where doors are opening for him to come to Major League Soccer.

No, at 30, he's not the same player he once was. People have already written him off, saying he can no longer play at the top level. Do not fool yourself. Ronaldo is not finished yet. And MLS is definitely not an "elephant cemetery," where old, tired players go to end their footballing days.

Ronaldo has bounced back before, and has what it takes to do it again. Days after Brazil failed at the World Cup last summer, where he became the all-time leading scorer in the world's biggest sporting event, Ronaldo was back in New York. As the United Nations and a Brazilian bank planned a Ronaldo-endorsed credit card, he found solace in the back streets of Greenwich Village. No angry, screaming Brazilians. Only peace.

New York is where Ronaldo can escape his own personal nightmare. And the gears are turning. Talks with the New York Red Bulls have taken place and continue after an earlier deal reportedly collapsed. Many believe a preliminary agreement has already been reached. Another person close to Ronaldo has said that Red Bulls management has already agreed to acquire him and has allocated the budget needed to attract him. It's just a question of timing.

Now that the so-called "Beckham Rule" has been enacted by MLS owners, where one player on each team won't count against the salary cap, the final stumbling block is out of the way.

And as if that weren't enough, recently retired Red Bull Youri Djorkaeff said in Germany (and repeated it elsewhere) that Ronaldo has "promised him to come to the Bulls soon." People close to Ronaldo say "the U.S. would open a new frontier for him." He'd be closer to Nike, for whom he's been an endorser for years. And he'd have no trouble finding more endorsements in the United States.

More importantly, Ronaldo wants to follow in the footsteps of Pelé. But doesn't want to do it the way the King did, moving to the U.S. when his career was finished. He wants to go to America while he's still got plenty left in the tank.

He's already halfway there, making business contacts all over the Big Apple. He's part of a new business collective that has invested $150 million in soccer, much of it in America. He's even scheduled to appear in an episode of The Simpsons next May, in which he'll teach Bart some tricks with the ball. His family would be happy, too: His girlfriend, Brazilian supermodel Raíca de Oliveira, and his sister, Ione, often shop and enjoy Manhattan as well.

On the other side of the fence, Ronaldo is on the mind of Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz, who dreams of making the striker part of his plan to be a superpower in soccer, as Red Bull already is in Formula 1 racing. The Austrian company says Ronaldo is "just the beginning," and is planning a $100 million marketing campaign that might even involve Franz Beckenbauer in a management role and possibly a return to New York for Pelé in a role to be determined, Ronaldo's assistants say.

Now to some immediate realities. Ronaldo has a new knee injury, and won't play again until next year. He won't leave Real Madrid until at least the end of the Spanish season, which wraps up next June. And he'll do all he can to re-conquer his place with the team.

Then the future becomes unwritten. He has also long dreamed of playing in England, but no top club will take a chance on him and he won't waste time with smaller teams. After that, there is a new factor: Flamengo. The most popular team in Brazil wants Ronaldo back in Rio de Janeiro, and he has said he'd love to play in his hometown again.

But millions of dollars are needed for that dream. Flamengo has contacted MSI -- the investment collective that took control of Corinthians and is trying to buy England's West Ham (and is under investigation for money-laundering) -- to try to raise money.

That makes the MLS picture a little clearer. As one of his family members said recently on Brazilian TV, "Nothing like a couple of years with some time out hanging around in New York."

Consider yourself warned, America. Ronaldo may take Manhattan, and it's closer to happening than you think.