Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, says he and the club are fighting a point of principle regarding the future of Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
With Fifa supremo Sepp Blatter's outrageous and less than even-handed intervention in the Cristiano Ronaldo "transfer" saga - the Swiss administrator absurdly likening to a slave a player who signed a lucrative contract with United of his own free will - the temperature of the controversy has risen several degrees and its moral compass is spinning wildly.
But Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is clear: he sees the battle to keep Ronaldo at Old Trafford as a "point of principle."
And he is determined to ensure Real Madrid do not get their object of desire - whatever the cost.
Ferguson is adamant he will not give in to pressure from the Bernabeu, the pro-Madrid media or Blatter on this issue.
He told The Sun: "It has become a point of principle, not money.
"As far as the club are concerned the size of any offer from Real Madrid is totally irrelevant.
"It isn't a question of seeing how much United can get for Cristiano, it is more a case of the repercussions if he was sold.
"There is a genuine fear of where would it all stop if a player is allowed to go as soon as he decides he wants away."
It is a similar situation at Arsenal with Emmanuel Adebayor, and for Blatter to side with primadonna players who expect to be able to disregard their contracts the moment a supposedly better offer comes along is, frankly, an abdication of his responsibilities to the game.
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