Cristiano Ronaldo has confided to friends that he is prepared to do “whatever it takes” to engineer a transfer to Real Madrid this summer. Manchester United maintain that they will not sell their most prized asset under any circumstances, but Ronaldo is dismissive of his club’s views and regards his planned world-record transfer to Real as an inevitability.
Ronaldo appeared almost ambivalent about his future when, in a statement on June 4, he suggested that he would be happy to stay at United if no fee was agreed with Real, but the depth of his determination to leave Old Trafford is now becoming clear.
A source close to the player said last night that he had made clear he would do everything in his power to persuade United to sell. That could mean anything from submitting a formal transfer request to refusing to report for pre-season training, but his next step will be to issue a further statement, outlining his intentions, as soon as Portugal’s participation in the European Championship finals is over.
[Source]
Cristiano Ronaldo’s personal terms for a move to Real Madrid were agreed ‘a long time ago’, according to a senior Manchester United source. Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes is now understood to have finalised all the key details with executives from the Spanish club.
‘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]
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.”.
[Source]
Cristiano Ronaldo has hinted he will consider his Manchester United future after the Champions League final and would be tempted by a move to Real Madrid.
The Portuguese winger has become one of the hottest properties in world football after scoring 41 goals this season to help United retain their Premier League title and reach the Champions League showpiece.
Madrid have consistently voiced their interest in the 23-year-old and reports have suggested they would be prepared to part with around £100million.
Ahead of next Wednesday’s meeting with Chelsea in Moscow, Ronaldo told Spanish TV network Antena 3: ‘I am happy here but let’s see what happens after the Champions League final.
‘I am feeling calm here. I’m happy but in the future I don’t know. I know Real Madrid like how I play and I know that other teams in Spain like my game as well, so that’s good.
‘It is good to know that other clubs are interested in you. I have said millions of times that I would love to play in Spain.’
[Source]
Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted he gets angry reading speculation about his future.
The Portugal international is currently in top form, scoring 37 goals this season, and links with the continent’s leading clubs are never far away.
But the 23-year-old has stressed once again he is happy at Old Trafford.
‘I just don’t care what the whole world seems to want to say about me or speculate about my future,’ he told The Sun.
‘I’ve said it a thousand times and, by now, people should realise… I’m totally happy at United.
‘I’m in the form of my life and I’m having the season of my career so far so it makes me mad sometimes to read some of the things which are supposed to be related to my future.
‘I get angry but I’m trying to accept it’s a waste of energy to be furious because it is not worth it.’
[Source]