Last Monday evening, as the Real Madrid squad arrived in Dublin Airport, young Ciara Mageean was also disembarking from a plane. She was returning with a silver medal in the 800 metres athletics event from the World Youth Games in Italy. She was thus deemed to be the second best in the world at her event, some achievement for a teenager from Co Down. There were precious few cameras to greet her, no media scrum to mark the achievement of bringing honour on her family, community and country. Instead, the 22 players who represent Real Madrid were the focus. They were in town for pre-season training, due to culminate with a scheduled game against Shamrock Rovers tomorrow evening. The squad was accompanied by 25 "support" staff. They were whisked through the VIP lounge at the airport and out the door before any fans could sniff the same air. Surprisingly, there were no vestal virgins on hand to scatter rose petals at their feet.

The group repaired to the salubrious Co Kildare retreat, Carton House. Around 30 autograph hunters were lying in wait. They were kept at a distance from the procession of players. One made a move towards Cristiano Ronaldo, pen and paper outstretched. Ronaldo is reputed to be the best footballer in the world. A security guard was having none of it. The young man was repelled.

The combined price of the Real Madrid players is between €400-500m. Ronaldo was bought from Manchester United for €90m. Real's president Florentino Perez has said the purchase of Ronaldo is good business. The club will make back their investment in the sale of shirts. Ronaldo is more an asset than a footballer. Like David Beckham before him, his performance on the field will be secondary to his name on shirts in the jungles of south east Asia and slums of Sao Paulo.

Back in Carton House, the Chosen Ones were reported to be relaxed, and why wouldn't they? The particulars of their requirements read more like a charter for scions of a tinpot dictator than the needs of professional footballers. They eat five meals a day. They are not allowed to ingest any other food without the say-so of the team doctor. On the pitch, there is a "watering programme", to ensure that the grass has the correct level of moisture depending on the elevation of the sun and the level of shade on the dark side of the moon. The grass is cut specifically to 23 millimetres for Real's visit. How they landed on the figure of 23 is anybody's guess, but if Ronaldo were to trip over a 26mm blade, there would be hell to pay.

If Ciara Mageean represents the essence of sport, then Real Madrid and Ronaldo epitomise the opium of the masses that is professional football. Where clubs were once the expression of the hopes and dreams of the communities from which they sprung, they now are primarily businesses. One young girl last week approached Ronaldo at Carton House to sign her Manchester United shirt, even though the player has left the club.

The footballers themselves are not of this world. Their skill on the pitch is beyond dispute, but the relationship between their game and the concept of sport grows more tenuous by the day.

Beyond the white lines, they are pampered and insulated from reality, venerated by masses on the flimsiest of virtues. Ronaldo, for instance, is probably now the third most famous man in the world, surpassed only by Mr B Obama and that lad from Ballymun. For the most part, pro footballers appear to have no ken whatsoever of the world beyond the cocoon in which they are wrapped. (To be fair, this is not a universal condition. Happily, some Irish pros – Kevin Doyle comes to mind – retain some semblance of humanity.)

On Thursday, Ronaldo gave a press conference. Thankfully, he did not opine on world hunger or the proliferation of nuclear weapons. He was not asked whether he foresees existential angst as being the bugbear of the 21st century. He loves his former club, Manchester United. He thinks his new club are only the dog's bollocks.

Tomorrow evening, the world will most likely get its first glimpse of Ronaldo in a Real shirt. Word will ping over newswires across the globe. Ronaldo makes his debut in Tallaght, Dublin.

Ireland has been put on the map by Real Madrid's visit. As a business promotion, it has been a huge success, attracting legions of Spanish media, whose copy and anecdotes may be a welcome fillip for the tourist industry. Spain is the third biggest European element of the Irish tourist market. Real has added value, going forward in adverse market conditions. That's sport Jim, but not as we want to know it.