It’s hard to believe there was talk of a crisis less than five days ago, but Manchester United on Friday capped a remarkable week by securing the services of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo-the man widely believed to be the game’s best player-for an additional five years. Over the past several month, the 22-year-old Ronaldo had been linked with several big clubs across Europe, including Real Madrid, which reportedly offered Manchester United $108 million for the player, and Barcelona, but the deal with United has now been secured. The Guardian report didn’t discuss terms.
Despite expressing his admiration on several occasions for the clubs’ chasing signature, Ronaldo says he never seriously considered leaving United. “I spoke with Sir Alex and [CEO] David Gill about my future and everyone knew that I wanted to stay,” he said. “I am very happy at the club and I want to win trophies, and hopefully we will do that this season.”
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was also understandably pleased: “It is fantastic news, it emphasizes the point that Cristiano is happy here and that he is at the right club. He has a great relationship with the team, staff and the fans and he will go on to be one of Manchester United’s great players.” Ronaldo is the Red Devils’ leading scorer this season with 20 goals in 50 appearances — a remarkable record for a winger.