Ronaldo ends transfer saga by committing to United
Wednesday, 06 Aug 2008 23:03
Ronaldo will remain at Old Trafford, ending weeks of speculation
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Cristiano Ronaldo has ended the transfer saga of the summer by committing himself to
Manchester United for at least one more season.
The winger spoke to Portuguese newspaper Publico to publicly announce that he will not be joining Real Madrid this summer, thus ending the Spanish club's hopes of capturing the star for the time being.
Ronaldo admitted that he had sparked the controversy by pronouncing his desire to join Madrid, but claims it is better for him to remain at Old Trafford for now.
"I will remain with Manchester United for at least another year," Ronaldo revealed to the newspaper.
The 23-year-old said that after meeting with manager Alex Ferguson he became convinced that he should remain with the European champions.
He also reported that the pair had cleared the air and that he was not playing against his own will.
Ronaldo said: "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."
United had become irritated at Real's public attempts to lure Ronaldo away from Old Trafford and reported them to Fifa earlier in the summer, although the governing body chose not to take any action.
Ronaldo admits this was entirely his fault after proclaiming his desire to join the Spanish giants.
He said: "I was responsible for all this controversy. I was the one who publicly expressed my desire to go to Real Madrid."
Ronaldo said he hoped United would back down and accept Real's bid if given time, but eventually realised that would not happen and accepted that the move would not come to fruition.
He said: "I knew Real Madrid were interested in signing me and that they had allegedly made a very high offer to Manchester United.
"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."
Ronaldo scored 42 times for United last season capturing the European golden boot award, he was also voted PFA player-of-the-year.
The winger is currently sidelined with an ankle injury and will miss the start of the new season.