FERGIE WELCOMES RONALDO COMMITMENT

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At the time it seemed certain Ronaldo would leave, but Ferguson managed to persuade the Madeira-born player he was better off where he was. "We cleared the air in Portugal, and the boy spoke to a few of the players as well," said the Scot.

"The boy has been through a troubled time in terms of the approaches from Spain, but once he knew my stance, he then settled down. "He has come out with this interview, which we are all pleased about, and we will welcome him back here this week."

Ferguson has urged the United supporters to stand by Ronaldo, despite his perceived disloyalty. He said: "The fans have got to understand. It's very difficult when a young boy is tempted by all this money, particularly a young lad from Madeira - his father died as a young man, so he looks after his mother, sister and brother.

"You can understand that in a way, but Cristiano knows more than anybody that he is very happy here. "He has always been happy here and there is never a complaint about Manchester United. He has always been treated properly and the players have had a great relationship with him.

"We can put this to bed now. It's finished and the boy is a Manchester United player and that's most important thing."

Agence France-Presse

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SAF really getting old or the newspaper anyhow write?

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Cristiano Ronaldo has ended speculation about his immediate future.

After months of speculation Cristiano Ronaldo last night confirmed he will definitely be playing at Manchester United next season. The winger admits he did desire a move to Real Madrid this summer for a "new challenge" and to be closer to his family but he has now committed his "heart and soul" to United and says he wants to help the club retain the European Cup next year.

Speaking with unexpected candour, Ronaldo admitted full responsibility for what has been one of the most protracted and bitter transfer sagas in recent football history but insisted his biggest sin had been honesty in having confessed publicly to wanting to play for Madrid. Having spoken with Sir Alex Ferguson, however, and decided he did not want to leave United without their blessing, the 23-year-old now wants to end all speculation about his immediate future.

"I can confirm that I'll be playing for Manchester United next season. I'll be playing with my heart and soul and I will fight and honour the shirt with the same desire and dedication as I always have," said the Portugual international. "My coach [Ferguson] was kind enough to come and see me in Lisbon a few days ago. It was a very honest conversation between two people that respect each other and that I'm sure share a mutual affection and friendship. Sir Alex listened to me, I listened to him and we established that the best for both sides would be for me to continue at Old Trafford.

"It's no sacrifice for me, it's a great honour. I have important things to win in England. I want to defend the European title and help United become world champions, not forgetting the Premier League and other competitions."

Ferguson has always remained confident that the player he signed from Sporting Lisbon for £13m in 2003 would stay at the club but this declaration of loyalty will be met with relief by United supporters who were convinced Ronaldo would leave, such was the vigour with which he courted a move to the Bernabéu. That was most apparent when, in agreement with Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, he accused the European champions of treating him like a slave in their attempts to keep him in England. Ronaldo denies making that comment, despite its being aired on Portuguese television, and insists he would never have forced a move away from Old Trafford.

"I never wanted to leave against Manchester United's will and I'm going to say something here that I've never told anybody: if we hadn't been European champions I probably wouldn't have even thought about going to Madrid," he said. "But after we'd won the Champions League, I felt that in five years I had helped win everything there was to win. We'd won the Premier League twice and I'd won a host of individual awards, including the best goalscorer in the Premier League, Champions League and in Europe. So I felt that maybe I needed a new challenge.

"I knew that Real Madrid was interested in signing me and, yes, for a while I wanted Manchester to accept their offer. I wanted to play in Spain, at Real Madrid in particular, and I thought this could be the right moment. My family would welcome the change. The chance of being an hour's flight from my mother was very attractive. But I now want this to end. I was the one that was responsible for all this controversy but it was never my intention to cause friction between these two clubs."

Ronaldo still refuses to rule out a move to Madrid in the future, claiming "nothing is set in stone", but having just brought a house in Manchester it appears he will see out the bulk of the five-year contract he signed with United in April.

"I'm very aware of what this club has done for me. I'll be forever grateful," he said. "When they turned down the offer [from Madrid] the people at United made it very clear how much they wanted me. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but now I can really appreciate it."

He went on to praise United's supporters but many may never forgive him for wanting to leave the club. In an attempt to appease those who may boo the winger when he returns after an ankle operation, Ferguson said last night: "The fans have got to understand, it's very difficult when a young boy is tempted by all this money. Particularly a young lad from Madeira; his father died as a young man so he looks after his mother, sister and brother. But he has always been happy here. We can put this to bed now."

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Faggot

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The German coach maintained that he would have welcomed the Portuguese star to the club, but was keen for the club to explore other possible signings too. Ronaldo stated on Tuesday that he would be staying with Manchester United and Schuster accepted the choice and reiterated his belief in the squad he has.

"We have to respect his decision. He was free to do what he wanted and it is a shame that he will not be joining us because he is a player that would have improved what is already a great team," he told reporters in Colombia.

"But that is over now. We have a superb side to start the league with and to play for all the aims that we have. It is a decision that we will just have to accept. "I think it is well known that we have talked a lot about Cristiano Ronaldo and that if we did that then there could be problems down the line, especially if he did not come like this."

Schuster is reported to have asked president Ramón Calderón for at least three players at the end of last season and became irked that all the club's efforts went into attracting Ronaldo.

He is pleased to have signed Rafael Van der Vaart, but hinted that he could add at least one more new face to his squad before the end of August. "Now there is not much time to buy left, but we are remaining calm because we have complete faith in the squad we have," he continued.

"We have signed Van der Vaart and within three months we will have Sneijder back. Now nobody should be nervous and say that we have to sign players. "Only players that can improve what we have will be wanted and for a team like Real Madrid that is very difficult."

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