Ronaldo pledges future to United
Cristiano Ronaldo has been overshadowed by the displays of Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov this season
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Sunday, 26, Oct 2008 03:40
Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he wants to stay at Manchester United beyond this season.
The winger was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid last summer after admitting it would be a "dream" to play at the Spanish champions.
But Madrid have now given up on luring the Portuguese attacker to the Bernabeu because of United's refusal to sell him.
Ronaldo, who scored 41 goals last season, said he wants to remain at Old Trafford.
"Now I understand I made the best decision," Ronaldo told Spanish sports paper Marca.
"I am with Manchester in body and soul.
"I want to respect the club, my colleagues and the fans and don't want to talk about other teams at present."
The 23-year-old has been a shadow of the player he was, scoring three goals since his return from an ankle injury.
Pundits highlighted his mood in yesterday's 1-1 draw with Everton, where he dragged a shot wide with the goal at his mercy in the closing stages.
But Madrid president Ramon Calderon said they will no longer pursue the ex-Sporting Lisbon forward.
"Manchester didn't want to sell over the last three or four months but we don't want to get into trouble with them as they are one of the biggest clubs in the world," Calderon told the BBC.
"You can never be sure what will happen in the future but Real Madrid want to have a good relationship with Manchester.
"We do not want disturb them in any way over any possible signing that they are not willing to accept.
"We know it is not easy to sign players from big clubs in the middle of the season."