Ronaldo: why I am staying at United

· 'I couldn't go against club's will - I'll play with heart and soul'
· 'I only wanted Madrid move because we won European Cup'
· 'Slavery? That makes no sense - I just said players should be happy'

 

After months of speculation Cristiano Ronaldo last night confirmed he will definitely be playing at Manchester United next season. The winger admits he did desire a move to Real Madrid this summer for a "new challenge" and to be closer to his family but he has now committed his "heart and soul" to United and says he wants to help the club retain the European Cup next year.

Speaking with unexpected candour, Ronaldo admitted full responsibility for what has been one of the most protracted and bitter transfer sagas in recent football history but insisted his biggest sin had been honesty in having confessed publicly to wanting to play for Madrid. Having spoken with Sir Alex Ferguson, however, and decided he did not want to leave United without their blessing, the 23-year-old now wants to end all speculation about his immediate future.

"I can confirm that I'll be playing for Manchester United next season. I'll be playing with my heart and soul and I will fight and honour the shirt with the same desire and dedication as I always have," said the Portugual international. "My coach [Ferguson] was kind enough to come and see me in Lisbon a few days ago. It was a very honest conversation between two people that respect each other and that I'm sure share a mutual affection and friendship. Sir Alex listened to me, I listened to him and we established that the best for both sides would be for me to continue at Old Trafford.

"It's no sacrifice for me, it's a great honour. I have important things to win in England. I want to defend the European title and help United become world champions, not forgetting the Premier League and other competitions."

Ferguson has always remained confident that the player he signed from Sporting Lisbon for £13m in 2003 would stay at the club but this declaration of loyalty will be met with relief by United supporters who were convinced Ronaldo would leave, such was the vigour with which he courted a move to the Bernabéu. That was most apparent when, in agreement with Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, he accused the European champions of treating him like a slave in their attempts to keep him in England. Ronaldo denies making that comment, despite its being aired on Portuguese television, and insists he would never have forced a move away from Old Trafford.

"I never wanted to leave against Manchester United's will and I'm going to say something here that I've never told anybody: if we hadn't been European champions I probably wouldn't have even thought about going to Madrid," he said. "But after we'd won the Champions League, I felt that in five years I had helped win everything there was to win. We'd won the Premier League twice and I'd won a host of individual awards, including the best goalscorer in the Premier League, Champions League and in Europe. So I felt that maybe I needed a new challenge.

"I knew that Real Madrid was interested in signing me and, yes, for a while I wanted Manchester to accept their offer. I wanted to play in Spain, at Real Madrid in particular, and I thought this could be the right moment. My family would welcome the change. The chance of being an hour's flight from my mother was very attractive. But I now want this to end. I was the one that was responsible for all this controversy but it was never my intention to cause friction between these two clubs."

Ronaldo still refuses to rule out a move to Madrid in the future, claiming "nothing is set in stone", but having just brought a house in Manchester it appears he will see out the bulk of the five-year contract he signed with United in April.

"I'm very aware of what this club has done for me. I'll be forever grateful," he said. "When they turned down the offer [from Madrid] the people at United made it very clear how much they wanted me. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but now I can really appreciate it."

He went on to praise United's supporters but many may never forgive him for wanting to leave the club. In an attempt to appease those who may boo the winger when he returns after an ankle operation, Ferguson said last night: "The fans have got to understand, it's very difficult when a young boy is tempted by all this money. Particularly a young lad from Madeira; his father died as a young man so he looks after his mother, sister and brother. But he has always been happy here. We can put this to bed now."

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