That seemed to signal that this may be Ronaldo’s final season as a Manchester United player but, speaking ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield, Ferguson expressed confidence that the Portuguese winger will remain at the club for the four remaining years of his contract – and possibly even beyond.

“As he gets older, I think Cristiano will appreciate being here more and more,” Ferguson said. “That happens with players the longer they stay here. They don’t want to leave. It’s unusual for anyone to want to leave Manchester United. Cristiano realises that, too.

“We had a good meeting over in Portugal and clarified a lot of things. He was good, and I was pleased with that. That’s why I was confident that everything was going to be all right. Cristiano will settle down and enjoy his career here. He’s got four years on his contract, and hopefully at some point we would like to extend it. That’s where we are.”

[Source]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

The Manchester United manager revealed the club have sent an employee to accompany the Portuguese winger.

“He was always scheduled to have this time off in Los Angeles. There was no harm in going there,” said Ferguson.

“He’s doing some commercial things. I think he’s signed up with an LA-based company. I’ve someone there with him.”

Ferguson dismissed as “a load of rubbish” reports Ronaldo has been drinking and partying excessively during his rehabilitation.

[Source]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

The Portugal winger is determined to engineer a move to Real Madrid, but Ferguson is vehemently opposed to selling and will spend this week examining ways to strengthen his squad.

The two men are not believed to have spoken since Ronaldo left Manchester to join the Portugal squad in late May, with the player doing nothing to dispel rumours of growing tension between him and his club manager.

But while Ferguson has been disappointed by some of Ronaldo’s comments, he does not want to sell the player and is convinced that Ronaldo will drop the issue when he learns of the extent of United’s opposition to the sale.

[Source]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

‘They have been talking for at least two months,’ the source told Observer Sport last night, ‘and it was all agreed with Real Madrid weeks ago. All this chat from [Real president] Ramón Calderón that he does not want to upset Manchester United, and Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be bought because he belongs to another club, is absolute rubbish. Discussions have gone way beyond the point of no return. Sir Alex Ferguson knows this now so you can imagine how it has gone down.’

This explains United’s decision to lodge a formal complaint with Fifa, claiming that Ronaldo has been tapped up; a threat that, although announced occasionally by clubs, is rarely acted upon. Last week a national newspaper also published a photograph of Ronaldo meeting a Real official in January in Rome, the club’s fitness instructor, Walter Di Salvo, who left Old Trafford for the Bernabéu.

[Guardian]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

The hardline stance was spelt out by Sir Alex Ferguson and comes directly from the Glazer family, who control United. For United’s American owners, standing up to Real has become a point of principle and they are understood to have echoed in private the vow that Ferguson has made publicly – not to allow the Spanish giants to “ride roughshod” over their club

“The thing people miss the point about is that I’ve had a couple of meetings with the Glazers,” said Ferguson. “Their attitude is ‘to hell with them’ (Real). They would sit a player in the stand. There’s absolutely no doubt about it. They’d do it just to prove a point and not to give in to these people. They’ve got balls, I can tell you. I’ve been delighted with them in that respect.”.

[Source]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

Top London law firm Schillings announced that it has issued libel proceedings at the High Court against News Group Newspapers, owners of The Sun.

The libel claim follows publication of an article headed “Text-Mad Ronaldo fined £8k, Fergie’s Fury on phone ban. Exclusive”, which alleged that the footballer was fined £8,000 in one day by his manager, Alex Ferguson, for using his mobile phone four times during training.

Simon Smith, Ronaldo’s solicitor in London, said: “Our client is a professional footballer who takes his training very seriously.

“The Sun article wrongly accuses him of being unprofessional and he felt he had to take legal action in order to protect his reputation.”

[Source]

So… the ‘phone addication’ story is not true then?

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

The 23-year-old Portuguese winger was caught texting four times during a single session at the club’s Carrington complex.

Strict Fergie, 66, is tightening the screw on players who are not completely focused during the club’s midweek preparation.

He has been hitting his stars in the pocket with on-the-spot £2,000 penalties for every offence.

A United source said: “The players all respect Sir Alex’s discipline. He is not a man to be messed with.

“But a few of the players have been sneaking their mobile phones on to the training pitch to send the odd text message between sessions.

“Fergie and his assistants have been cracking down on it big time recently. They insist that mobiles stay in lockers and should not be used until training is finished.”

[Source]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

Ronaldo continued his remarkable goalscoring run with two in United’s 3-1 fourth-round FA Cup tie against Tottenham on Sunday, to take his tally for the season to 25 in 27 games.

He has 17 goals in the Premier League, five in the Champions League and three in the FA Cup.

Although boss Fergie believes it is unlikely his Portuguese attacker will hit the 30- goal mark in the Premier League this season, he has promised the £110,000-a-week star even more money if he reaches the milestone.

[Source]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

The Portuguese winger has already scored 23 times in all competitions this campaign for the reigning Premier League champions and heads the top-flight scoring table with 17 goals.

“With Ronaldo having scored 23 goals already, there is the potential for him to score 30 this season without question,” Ferguson said.

“He is not that far off and he has a strong chance of doing that.

“I’m sure that he is capable of scoring 30 league goals, though I think that is a different matter entirely.

“Achieving that would be more difficult and I don’t think that will happen. It is a big ask, but if he does manage it, I’ll pay him more money.”

[Source]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101

The Portugal winger has emerged triumphant on the personal wagers in the past two seasons by easily eclipsing the 15 and 20 goal totals set by Ferguson and landing £400 in the process.

However, sick of always finishing a loser, the wily Scot has decided to up the ante this time around. And having presented Ronaldo with a massive 35 goals to aim for, the 22-year-old politely declined.

“I won’t be having a bet with Ronaldo this season because he has refused my offer,” laughed Ferguson.

“I told him that I would be asking for 35 goals from him this year, but he said no, so there will be no betting this season.”

[Source]

Cristiano Ronaldo 101