Sir Alex Ferguson is "proud" to have managed Cristiano
Ronaldo and holds no grudges against him for quitting Manchester
United for Real Madrid.
After spending all last season insisting he would not let
Ronaldo leave for the Bernabeu, Ferguson eventually bowed to the
inevitable when Real agreed to cough up a world record £80million
transfer fee for the 24-year-old.
It ended a six-year association with the Old Trafford outfit,
during which time Ronaldo has been transformed from a raw teenager
with too many flicks to the best player in the world.
While Ferguson is understandably disappointed to lose a player
of such talent, Ronaldo heads to Spain with his best wishes.
"I had a good relationship with the boy but I never, ever
thought we were going to keep him for a long time," said
Ferguson.
"We are proud and pleased to have him for six years.
"He has had this opportunity to take another challenge and I
respect him for that.
"He was a fantastic player for us, a good lad and gave us no
problems. We wish him well."
Given the sum United received in return it is little wonder
Ferguson feels so content about the situation.
However, having the cash and spending it have proved to be too
different things.
Ferguson was keen to lure Karim Benzema to Old Trafford, only to
find Real Madrid's cheque-book open again to snare the Lyon star,
which led United instead to make their shock move for Michael
Owen.
And, with the additional arrivals of Antonio Valencia from Wigan
and Gabriel Obertan from Bordeaux, Ferguson claims his dealings for
the summer are done.
"That is the end of our business," he said.
Such a statement is unlikely to go down well on the Stretford
End, although he quickly made it clear the decision not to spend
further is his alone.
"I can only placate the fans this way and say I am not going to
be stupid," he said.
"We have got that wonderful sum of money from Real Madrid but
there was no way we were going to throw it away and put an extra
nought on the end of the transfer which I didn't think was
value.
"Some of the numbers being tossed about are sky-high, not just
in England but across Europe.
"For some reason it seems to have caught fire this summer and it
has been very difficult to get value."
However, anyone believing United will not be competitive should
beware.
In making his bold statement about no more signings, Ferguson
has assessed the players at his disposal and decided the likes of
Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda have the ability to make an
impact at the highest level.
"There is no need for any knee-jerk reactions.
"We have a good squad and we are still going to be very strong
next year."