6 Aug 2008
The Portugal winger has been linked with Real Madrid
throughout the summer, with the Spanish club maintaining their
interest even though United repeatedly stressed Ronaldo would not
be sold.
In an interview to be published in Portugal tomorrow,
Ronaldo repeated his intentions to play for Real Madrid but also
confirmed he will stay with United for another season at least.
He 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.”
Ronaldo has also taken the blame for the transfer saga,
which lasted for several months and damaged United’s relationship
with Real.
He continued: “I was responsible for all this
controversy.
“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 repeated that his dream of playing for Real remains
and has not closed the door on a future move to the Spanish
giants.
He explained: “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.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1524524.ece