At long last it is all over as Ronaldo says: ‘I’m staying
Winger finally commits his future to Manchester United, ending Real’s chase
Cristiano Ronaldo has at long last drawn a line under a summer of transfer speculation by insisting: I’m staying at Manchester United.
The Portuguese winger has been a long-running target of Real Madrid, even though United have repeated stood firm, insisting he wasn’t for sale.
Ronaldo had said on more than one occasion that it was his “dream” to play for Real, while United even reported the Spanish side to Fifa at one stage for an illegal approach to the player.
But, finally last night, the 23-yearold spoke out to end the saga, confirming that while he would still like to play for Real in the future, he will be staying at United for one more season at least.
“I will remain with Manchester United for at least another year,” Ronaldo told Portuguese newspaper Publico. “Sir Alex Ferguson heard my arguments, I heard his and, in fact, it was settled that the best for both parties would be for me to stay.
“Therefore, I can confirm that, next season, I will play for Manchester United. Before rumours emerge saying that I will play against my will, I want to make this clear – whoever says or writes that is lying.
“I will play for Manchester with all my heart and soul. I will fight and honour that shirt with the same commitment and dedication as always.”
Ronaldo then went on to take blame for the controversy that has dominated the headlines all summer and soured United’s relationship with Real.
“I was responsible for all this controversy,” he added. “I was the one who publicly expressed my desire to go to Real Madrid. I ended up being, even involuntarily, responsible for the poor relationship between the two clubs.”
But he later repeated his wish to play for Real one day and says the door is not closed on a future move.
“I knew Real Madrid were interested in signing me and that they had allegedly made a very high offer to Manchester United,” he went on. “My desire was, for some time, that Manchester had accepted my transfer to Madrid. Saying otherwise would be to trick people and my own consciousness.”