Ronaldo: I want to stay with Man Utd for many
years
Cristiano Ronaldo has again declared his commitment to Manchester
United.
The Portugal winger had been 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 this
summer that will keep him at United until 2012, and he confirmed in
an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca 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."
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.
"Not at all. I think that the English league since last season is
the strongest, above the Italian and Spanish," said Ronaldo, who is
an outside bet to pip AC Milan playmaker Kaka to this year's FIFA
World Player of the Year.
"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."
