Christano Ronaldo finally broke his media silence on Wednesday and said that he was staying at Old Trafford for at least one more season.
Ronaldo was quoted in the Spanish paper Publico as saying:
“Sir Alex Ferguson heard my arguments, I heard his and, in fact, it was settled that the best for both parties would be for me to stay. Therefore, I can confirm that, next season, I will play for Manchester United. Before rumours emerge saying that I will play against my will, I want to make this clear – whoever says or writes that is lying. I will play for Manchester with all my heart and soul. I will fight and honour that shirt with the same commitment and dedication as always.”
The interview was given with the approval of United as Fergie was quoted as saying:
“We knew this was the case because I flew to Portugal some weeks ago and we cleared the air — he also spoke to some players. The boy has come through a troubled time in terms of approaches from Spain but once he knew my stance he then settled down. We will welcome him back this week.”
So good news for Manchester United fans, at least for one season. But expect this saga to begin again next summer because Ronaldo still wants to play for Real Madrid at some point. Ronaldo said in the interview that:
“I knew Real Madrid were interested in signing me and that they had allegedly made a very high offer to Manchester United. My desire was, for some time, that Manchester accept my transfer to Madrid. Saying otherwise would be to trick people and my own consciousness.”
This move gives Ferguson and the Glazers twelve months to find a replacement for Ronaldo. 70 or 80 million pounds is a lot of money and will allow United to buy probably 3 world class players. Selling Ronaldo and successfully reinvesting the funds could allow United to compete with the best in Europe for another 3-5 years.