Ronaldo hints at United stay and shuns ‘incredible’ Real
MANCHESTER UNITED winger Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday appeared to snub a world record summer transfer to Real Madrid, indicating he intends to stay at Old Trafford next season.
However the Fifa World Player of the Year hinted at another protracted summer of mixed messages by admitting his interest in Real’s summer rebuilding, which is likely to be led by president-elect Florentino Perez.
“At the moment I’m only thinking about the Champions League final, independently of what will happen to me or my team-mates next season,” the Portuguese said.
“I’m sure Perez would create an incredible team at Madrid but at the moment I’m at United and I don’t care about what happens there. I only care about what will happen next season at Manchester United.”
Real reportedly have top-secret pre-contract agreements with Ronaldo and United to buy the 24-year-old at the end of this season for £71.5m – a price that would smash the current world record of £46m.
However, Perez – the favourite to win the Spanish club’s upcoming presidential election – is said to be reluctant to pay so much for Ronaldo, with Real also weighing up huge bids for AC Milan’s Kaka and Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery.
Real made Ronaldo their primary target last summer, following an outstanding season in which he scored a staggering 42 goals. In return the former Sporting Lisbon player made no secret of his interest in a move to the iconic club, publicly admitting that he wanted to play for Real.
He was persuaded to stay for at least another season by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson but, despite his manager’s insistence that he “wouldn’t sell Real a virus”, looks set to be the subject of fervent speculation in the coming months.
Ronaldo hints at United stay and shuns ‘incredible’ Real
MANCHESTER UNITED winger Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday appeared to snub a world record summer transfer to Real Madrid, indicating he intends to stay at Old Trafford next season.
However the Fifa World Player of the Year hinted at another protracted summer of mixed messages by admitting his interest in Real’s summer rebuilding, which is likely to be led by president-elect Florentino Perez.
“At the moment I’m only thinking about the Champions League final, independently of what will happen to me or my team-mates next season,” the Portuguese said.
“I’m sure Perez would create an incredible team at Madrid but at the moment I’m at United and I don’t care about what happens there. I only care about what will happen next season at Manchester United.”
Real reportedly have top-secret pre-contract agreements with Ronaldo and United to buy the 24-year-old at the end of this season for £71.5m – a price that would smash the current world record of £46m.
However, Perez – the favourite to win the Spanish club’s upcoming presidential election – is said to be reluctant to pay so much for Ronaldo, with Real also weighing up huge bids for AC Milan’s Kaka and Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery.
Real made Ronaldo their primary target last summer, following an outstanding season in which he scored a staggering 42 goals. In return the former Sporting Lisbon player made no secret of his interest in a move to the iconic club, publicly admitting that he wanted to play for Real.
He was persuaded to stay for at least another season by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson but, despite his manager’s insistence that he “wouldn’t sell Real a virus”, looks set to be the subject of fervent speculation in the coming months.