Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted the Cristiano Ronaldo
saga is ‘finished’ – but admits he is no closer to replacing
assistant manager Carlos Queiroz.
Despite continued speculation that Ronaldo will demand a
transfer, Real Madrid president Roman Calderon said earlier on
Tuesday that Rafael van der Vaart was likely to be the club’s only
signing of the summer. And Ferguson has confirmed that, as far as
he is concerned, there is nothing left to discuss.
“The matter’s closed now,” he told a press conference. “He’s a
Manchester United player and it’s finished.
“It’s finished. He’s here. He’s going to play here next season,
believe me.”
However, Ferguson has already lost Queiroz after he left to
replace Luiz Felipe Scolari as coach of the Portuguese national
team and says he is unlikely to make an appointment in the next
month.
“We’ll take our time with that, you know. I think the situation
maybe will be a bit quicker than normal.
“Don’t worry, we’ll have someone by the end of September. We
never rush these things.
“It’s always hard to replace good men. We’ve good coaches here –
we’ve no problems with that aspect – it’s just we’re looking for a
particular type of person who could assist me in certain ways.”
With the number of Portuguese-speaking players currently at Old
Trafford, some believe Ferguson will look to appoint another
Portuguese assistant, but he says that is not necessarily the
case.
“It’s possible – there is a box that has to be ticked I suppose
if languages come into it – but it’s not necessarily a prerequisite
of the job.”