Manchester United are so determined not to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid that they would let him rot on the sidelines rather than cave in to pressure should the player and the Spanish champions try to force through a move.
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.”.
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Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has started libel proceedings over a newspaper article alleging he was fined £8,000 (€10,506) in one day for using his mobile phone during training.
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.”
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So… the ‘phone addication’ story is not true then?
Cristiano Ronaldo was fined £8000 in one day by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson… for using his mobile phone during training.
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.”
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Sir Alex Ferguson has promised Cristiano Ronaldo a bumper pay rise if the free-scoring Manchester United winger can fire 13 more Premier League goals – giving him 30 for the season.
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.
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