Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed his love of the English game and
reiterated his desire to stay at Manchester United for "many
years".
The Portugal winger was the centre of intense transfer speculation
for much of last season, with regular media reports linking him
with moves to Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
However, the 22-year-old signed a five-year contract extension in
the summer to tie him to United until 2012, and he confirmed in an
interview with Spanish newspaper Marca on Sunday that he sees his
long-term future at the Premier League champions.
When asked his thoughts on Real Madrid, Ronaldo said: "Real Madrid
are a great club, everybody knows that. But I insist that I am very
happy at Manchester United and I want to continue here for many
years."
Ronaldo also revealed his love for the English game, which last
season saw him voted as both the PFA Player and Young Player of the
Year - the first player to land the double award since 1977.
No player playing in England has ever won the FIFA World Player of
the Year award though - which is in stark contrast to both Spain
and Italy - but Ronaldo dismissed any suggestion that playing in
the Premier League hindered his chances of winning an award like
that.
"In England all the stadiums are full and any smaller team can now
win against the big teams. As well as that, the play is not stopped
so many times, it is very fast, intense and aggressive, and the
players are stronger," he said.
"The Spanish league is also a very good league. I like it very much
and I have a lot of interest in it, but I think that right now the
English league is better."
Ronaldo also paid tribute to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the
man who took the flying winger from Sporting Lisbon to England in a
£12.24million deal in 2003.
"He is a great man, because he was won everything at this club. And
he is a coach who I appreciate a lot because he has always helped
me whenever I have needed it, and thanks to him I am now a much
better player."