Cristiano Ronaldo’s two goals tonight has Cristiano Ronaldo scoring in each of the last 3 games, creating a small scoring streak that will no doubt have Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester fuming at the ears as they realize the true super talent that they’ve lost.

Cristiano Ronaldo is showing the world that he is indeed the best, and his form has never looked better.

Reports coming out of England on Sunday November 2, 2008, suggest that Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to pay £150,000 per week to keep Cristiano Ronaldo playing for the Red Devils until 2014.

Ronaldo is currently under contract with Manchester which pays him £120,000 per week until 2012, but could buy out his contract at the end of the season according to Fifa´s new rules.

Ferguson has stated that he wants Ronaldo to remain at Old Trafford,  and has reportedly instructed Manchester United brass to work on a new deal to keep Ronaldo playing for the Reds for the next several years.

Ferguson has also stated that he believes that Cristiano will probably equal his goal output from last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo was seen training with Manchester United, but his return as a starter may be further away than first anticipated.

Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that Ronaldo will not be pressured back onto the game pitch before he is fully recovered from his surgery, which could be November.

The depth of the Manchester squad may be able to get through the next two months without Ronaldo in the lineup, however, they presently stand 5th in the EPL standings with 4 points coming from a draw and a win.

At present, Chelsea stands atop the league with six points, in what has been a perfect season so far.  The acquisition of Deco is beginning to look like the work of genius, as the Portugal International has scored two brilliant goals for the men in blue.

Manchester United can only hope that Ronaldo’s presence on the pitch is not further delayed by setbacks to his recovery, and that he will be back in the game come October.  Until then, it will be a waiting game for both club and player.

Cristiano Ronaldo is recovering from ankle surgery ahead of schedule, and may be back on the pitch in early October.

Sir Alex Ferguson has said that “There has been no problem, his progress has been great. He has never missed a session morning or afternoon. We are penciling him in for the beginning of October.”

“Cristiano has been doing excellently. He is well ahead of schedule. The specialist was surprised the condition he was in.”

“The next three weeks he will have rehab and then the next part will be endurance work and serious running before he goes into the football side with us.”

Now that the transfer saga of the year has ended in Cristiano Ronaldo remaining at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson has asked the United faithful not to be too hard on the young scoring phenom.

“The fans have to understand it has been a very difficult time for him,” Sir Alex was quoted as saying in The Telegraph.

“He has been offered all this money – when his dad has died a young man and he is looking after his mother, his sister and his brother.

“He has had a troubled time, and you can understand that.

“But once he knew my stance, he settled down – and as far as we are all concerned, the matter is finished. The boy is a United player – that is what is important.

“We cleared the air in Portugal, and the boy spoke to a few of the players as well,” the Scot added.

“The thing is, he knows he is happy here – and has always been happy here.”

Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed to Portuguese media that he will in fact be staying at Manchester United.

Below is the full interview which has been translated into English

Sir Alex Ferguson said this week that it was “the end of the matter” and that Cristiano Ronaldo will be playing at Manchester United next season. Is this true?

Yes. My coach was kind enough to come and see me in Lisbon a few days ago, which I think is common knowledge. It was a very honest conversation between two people that respect one other and that I’m sure share a mutual affection and friendship.

What we said to each other will remain private. 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. So, I can confirm that I’ll be playing for Manchester United next season. And before there are any rumours and speculation about me staying against my will, I want to make one thing clear: whoever says or writes anything to that effect is lying. I’ll be playing at Manchester United with my heart and soul. I will fight and honour the shirt with the same desire and dedication as I always have.

And how do you think the people at Real Madrid will feel hearing you say that you’re staying at Manchester United?

I want to say that I was the one that was responsible for all this controversy. It wasn’t their fault because it was me that said publicly that I wanted to move to Real Madrid. It was also me, although wholly unintentionally, that caused the friction between the two clubs.

Your statements after the Champions League final and during and after the European Championship demonstrated your enormous desire to leave Manchester United and move to Real Madrid. What did you actually want?

I knew that Real Madrid were interested in signing me and that they had, allegedly, made a very substantial offer to Manchester United. For a while, I wanted Manchester to accept the offer and for me to move to Madrid. If I denied it I would be deceiving everyone, including myself. Anyone who knows me knows that it would have to be something very important for me to admit such a thing. If there’s one thing I’ve never been – nor do I ever want to be – it is ungrateful.

Manchester United – from the Glazer family, the directors, namely David Gill, to the coaches, team-mates and backroom staff – is a club that will always be dear to my heart. Whatever happens in the future, that will never change. I’m very aware of what this club has done for me and I’ll be eternally grateful, come what may. But it was because of this, because I knew this club was different and extraordinarily human, that I hoped that my wishes and my reasons would be understood.

And what were the reasons that made you want to leave?

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 never hid the fact that I wanted to play in Spain, at Real Madrid in particular, and I thought this could be the right moment.

Manchester United and Real are probably the two biggest clubs in the world and it would never be an easy decision to make. Apart from the challenge, everyone realises that Spanish and Portuguese culture and lifestyle are more similar. Those were the reasons that made me consider the change.

Nothing else? The attraction of an even more generous wage that Real Madrid are said to be willing to pay, for example?

I’m aware that, whatever the circumstances, there will always be speculation about me. I knew that there would always be someone who’d say that my main concern was making more money. Others would insist that my vanity couldn’t resist being linked to the biggest transfer fee of all time at the age of 23. Of course I am proud to see my work recognised, but none of this had any major effect on what I wanted. In fact, if it was just a question of money, I would never leave Manchester United.

Apart from the reasons I’ve just given, I also have to recognise that my family would welcome the change. The chance of being an hour’s flight from my mother and the rest of my family was very attractive, even more so playing for a club like Real Madrid. I know I have to deal with these circumstances, even though it’s difficult sometimes, but it’s harder to ask the same of the people I love the most.

The best proof of what I’ve just said is the fact that I’ve just made a major investment in a house in Manchester, even though I didn’t have to. I did it not just for my own comfort but also for those closest to me. The people at Manchester United, particularly the manager, understood my reasons. But we all eventually concluded that I should continue to wear that No7 United shirt. It’s no sacrifice for me, it’s a great honour. I have important things to win in England. I will give everything I have to Manchester United. I want to defend the European title and help United become world champion, not forgetting the Premier League and other competitions.

Are you afraid of the reception you’ll get from the Manchester United fans?

No, to be honest. It’s possible but I hope it doesn’t happen. I know I’m a good professional, I know that no one’s harder on me than myself and that’s never going to change, under any circumstances. The high point of my career was winning the Champions League. No one will ever erase that from my memory, in the same way that no one will ever erase the fact that I did it in a Manchester United shirt.

What I said publicly, which was maybe a little naive, I take total responsibility for. People have to understand one thing: at the age of 18 I arrived at a dream club like Manchester United. It was a dream come true. But, even at that moment, I was thinking about playing in England for some years and then going to play in Spain. Even at that time I was thinking that way, and I always gave 100% everything. Why lie? I’m not going to be a hypocrite and say the opposite of what I think, like some others do. I said exactly what I thought: I have a dream of playing at Real and I thought it was time to move on. People can’t be upset about me fulfilling a childhood dream.

But would it be fair for Manchester United to lose you while you are still under contract?

I’m very aware of what this club has done for me. I’ll be forever grateful. Manchester United and its fans can be sure that I’ll never forget them, no matter what happens. They’re special and they’ll always have a place here [puts hand on heart]. In fact, I confess that one of the reasons I had the courage to say what I did was the fact that Manchester United would be fairly compensated.

The figure mentioned, which would be a world record, would serve as some compensation for the debt of gratitude that I owe the club, as least in material terms. 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. And there is something else that should be mentioned: I never wanted to leave against United’s will. When they turned down the offer, 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.

But you agreed with Sepp Blatter when the president of Fifa said that long-term contracts between players and clubs were a form of “modern slavery”?

That makes no sense, nor do I believe that’s what he meant, as he himself has already stated. My comment was about something else. I was saying that players should be where they feel happy. Nothing more.

Sir Alex Ferguson was always intransigent and denied any possibility of a transfer …

Believe me, it makes me proud to know how much he thinks of me. And he knows I feel exactly the same way about him. He has been one of the most important people in my playing career. Not only because of what I’ve learnt and continue to learn from him in sporting terms but also in human ones as well. I love the passion he has for football. If it were humanly possible I would like to have him always by my side. Of course it’s not possible but it shows how much affection, admiration and respect I have for him.

He has always been like a second father to me at Manchester United. I’ll never forget that it was him that explained the significance of the No7 United shirt, which will always be my shirt. When I was at Sporting I had a number of offers, some of them very lucrative. One of them offered eight million Euros just as a signing on fee and meant that I would play for Sporting for one more year and then leave as a free agent. But money isn’t everything. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter, Milan, Juventus, Valencia and practically all the big clubs were also interested.

At the time, Jorge Mendes explained that Manchester United also wanted me and that Sir Alex Ferguson had told him that he would be very careful with my playing career. So I would play at least 50% of the games in the first season, which is what happened. This shows that I also chose Manchester United and that money wasn’t the deciding factor. Alongside my agent [Mendes], Sir Alex Ferguson has been the most important person I’ve ever known in my career. Because of this, because of the special relationship that exists between us, I know that he’ll understand that there are times when a father has to worry only about what’s best for his child.

The Spanish press continues to say that your future is at Real Madrid

There’s no point in making predictions. It’s not worth speculating because nothing is set in stone and things change all the time in football. Today there are opportunities that no one knows if they will come round again in the future. There are only two certainties: I’ll be playing at Manchester United, a club I’m proud to represent; Real Madrid will continue to be a great club without me and I will continue to admire the Spanish club, as I have done since I was a boy.

I’m saying what I think and I hope that all the speculation will stop. The press has written some terrible things about me and about this whole thing. They’ve invented a thousand and one things and that’s one of the reasons why I decided to talk about this now. And people can be sure of one thing: everything I’ve said comes from the bottom of my heart and is the only truth.

Which means you don’t exclude the possibility the dream of playing for Madrid?

I’m 100% professional and I’ve always given my heart and soul to this club. I even played a major part of the season injured, which was verified by my operation. I played in excruciating pain while taking anti-inflammatory medication every day. And I’d do it again if necessary. This club deserves it because the United staff and the fans are fantastic, not forgetting the affection and respect I have for Sir Alex Ferguson. If one day I leave the club, I want to do it knowing that I did everything I could to help the club win as much as possible. If that happens, I’ll leave with the feeling of having done my duty to the maximum.

Interview by Bruno Prata, Publico

Read the interview in Portuguese Here:http://jornal.publico.clix.pt/

English Version Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/07/manchesterunited.ronaldo1:

The Cristiano transfer saga which has captivated the football world this summer has come to an end, according to Manchester United lead man, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson told Sky Sports that “the matter is closed now.”

“He is a Manchester United player, it’s finished.

“He is going to play here believe me.”

Real Madrid have gone ahead and signed  Rafael van der Vaart, bringing a speculative closure to the possible signing of Ronaldo.

The never ending transfer saga of Cristiano Ronaldo has taken a dramatic turn of events with Sir Alex Ferguson’s threat to leave the Red Devils, should Ronaldo leave for Real Madrid.

Amidst the constant speculation of Ronaldo leaving for Spain, Manchester United have continuously stated that they will not sell the young Portugal football star, however Real Madrid are still confident that they can land Cristiano in a record breaking transfer deal.

In what is portrayed as a last ditch effort to hold onto Ronaldo, Ferguson reportedly made a statement that he will leave the Red Devils with whom he has been with for 22 years.

“If Ronaldo leaves, I’m going too,” the Scot is quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca.

Ferguson has a reputation of playing the media to his benefit, and these comments, if indeed correct would most likely be a calculated effort to pressure Ronaldo into staying at Old Trafford out of guilt.

None of these comments which were reported by Spanish media ‘Marca’ are substantiated, and therefore, could be Real Madrid’s way of causing turmoil amidst Manchester United brass and players alike.

The Associated Press caught up with Sir Alex Ferguson in Durban, South Africa to speak about the never ending transfer saga of Cristiano Ronaldo.   Ronaldo gave a brief interview to ESPN while staying in Los Angeles, but refused to comment on Ferguson’s words that he will remain a  Red Devil for the upcoming season.

Ferguson stated that he believed that Real” Madrid is the worst thing for Cristiano’s career.”

“After the Champions League final, he was the happiest boy in the world,” Ferguson said Monday from Man United’s tour of South Africa. “I think he knows genuinely where the best club is to be at, and that is Manchester United.

“I honestly believe that the worst thing he could do is go to Real Madrid. He’s 23 years old, he is at the right club, he is at a fantastic club and there should not be any need to think in any other way.”

“He signed a five-year contract last year and he still has four years left,” Ferguson said. “That’s definite—I know that. I’ve seen his signature.

“Young lads can be twisted by the talk of money and moves that are happening all the time in modern day football.”

Ronaldo will not return to the pitch until at least October because of his recovery from ankle surgery.

Just one day after Sir Alex Ferguson’s insistence that Cristiano Ronaldo would remain at Old Trafford for another year, Spanish media AS and Marca have reported that Real Madrid’s pursuit of the young scoring phenom has not ended.

“I can say he’ll be a Manchester United player next season. That’s our stance. He won’t be sold,” Ferguson told a news conference in South Africa Friday where the side is on a pre-season tour.

This statement made the front pages of Spanish sports media AS and Marca, who remain adamant that Real Madrid’s pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t over yet, insisting that Ferguson’s words were just a ploy to raise the price.

Real Madrid has reportedly secured a 70 million euro bank loan to carry out the transfer and are believed to be unwilling to give up the opportunity to sign Cristiano.

Cristiano Ronaldo7.com will keep you updated on the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga.