Wing king Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed he is not
interested in joining Real Madrid - and wants to extend his stay at
Manchester United. The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with
moves to both Real and Barcelona in recent weeks but Barca claimed
on Tuesday they have made no approach, and Real's hopes of signing
him now appear to have been dashed.
The Portuguese winger said: "I consider myself a United footballer
who is playing well and trying to help the team. "If things keep
going well, I want to stay here. I'm not a Galactico. "I'm only
thinking about United and I want to stay here for more than two
more years. "I want to leave my mark on this era, win titles and be
a figure in the history of this club."
Ronaldo is on track to surpass Ronaldinho as the best player in the
world, according to United's skills development coach Rene
Meulensteen. The Dutch coaching expert claims Ronaldo's courage to
try new things on the pitch and willingness to learn will see the
winger overtake the Brazilian.
Meulensteen, who has worked with Ronaldo from when he first joined
United, said in his column on www.manutd.com: "He's got the same
attributes as Ronaldinho, a complete range of skills, and he's
heading very swiftly to becoming the best player in the
world.
"I asked him what his aim was and he said he wanted to win plenty
of prizes with the team, and be the best player in the world.
That's good. If you're going to have a dream, it had better be a
big one! "I asked him where he was on a scale of 1-10 towards
reaching that goal and he wasn't sure. I told him he was at an 8.
If he can add little bits to his game then 9 and 10 will come very
quickly. "But, what I think will eventually make him the best in
the world is that he's got the courage to try new things on the
pitch. It might not come off at first, but it will sooner or
later."
He added: "At the end of Cristiano's first season with United, I
said he was the most talented, technically-gifted player at United
in terms of tricks. All he needed was to become effective with his
skills, and that's the transition he's made this season. "Top
attacking players at the highest level possess an element of
unpredictability. That's what I've talked to Cristiano about. If he
gets the ball and always starts to run with it then the defender
gets wise to it. It's the same if he always passes it.
"He's made tremendous strides forward. He knows now that every time
he steps on a pitch he's going to make an impact. Because of what
he's created already, defenders stand off him. That means he's
already created the time and space to run." Meulensteen also
believes Ronaldo's mental attitude will help him achieve his
ambitions. He said: "It's his attitude that I like about him. He
has got the mentality that he can always add to his game. He never
gets complacent. He's a quick boy, a very intelligent learner. He's
always trying new things.
"He's also learning the power of standing still, which is very
under-rated. At the top level, defenders don't dive in. If they do,
then one pass and you're gone. It's very functional, because you're
standing still and then it's explosive when you move."
