The Times June 6, 2008
Ferguson not welcome here, says Ronaldo
Matt Hughes Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Cristiano Ronaldo’s faltering relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson appeared to deteriorate further yesterday when the Portugal winger effectively banned the Manchester United manager from visiting their European Championship training camp. In an embarrassing snub, Ronaldo has told team-mates that Ferguson is not welcome in Switzerland, bringing a premature end to proposals for peace talks that surfaced in the light of his continued flirtation with Real Madrid.
Ferguson had reservations about travelling to the university town of Neuchâtel in any case, with the United manager reluctant to show his concern at Real’s interest and uneasy about intruding into the sphere of Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Portugal coach, but Ronaldo’s stance has brought an end to the matter.
The 23-year-old’s intransigence springs from anger at Ferguson’s comments last weekend that the Glazer family would rather see him sit in the stands than sell him to Real, which he believes were disrespectful. Ronaldo is understood to be furious at this perceived slight, but Ferguson was merely responding to the player’s frequent expressions of admiration for Real.
Ronaldo’s mood is all the more frustrating for Ferguson because Scolari had indicated that he would be welcome to visit the player at the Portugal training base. The Brazilian has long been an admirer of Ferguson, the pair sharing a mutual respect, and is wonders whether Ronaldo is in the right frame of mind for the Euro 2008 campaign, which begins against Turkey in Geneva tomorrow.
“Scolari is a sensitive coach,” a Portuguese source said. “He wants Ronaldo to be settled and if Ronaldo asks to see Ferguson he will allow it. He just wants Ronaldo to be settled so he can play his best.” Gilberto Mandail, president of the Portuguese Football Federation said: “Having the best Ronaldo on the pitch in the next three weeks is very much our problem.”
The onus is on Ronaldo to demonstrate that the furore has not compromised his form, although it is becoming apparent that his departure from Old Trafford is a case of when rather than if. The former Sporting Lisbon winger went farther than ever yesterday, telling a Brazilian website that he would like to sign for Real if a deal can be done, although there is little chance of that happening this summer. With four years remaining on Ronaldo’s contract, United have no reason to sell — even for a world-record transfer fee in excess of £50 million — and Real will have to make a renewed bid in subsequent seasons.
“I would like to play for Real Madrid, but only if it is true they are ready to pay what Manchester United ask of them,” Ronaldo said. “However, it does not depend on me. From today I’m not going to talk about this topic with anyone at all. I’ll only talk about this again after the European Championship. Don’t ask me any questions because I won’t answer.”
Ferguson’s anger will only have increased after comments from Ruud van Nistelrooy, another player he fell out with, urging Ronaldo to join him at the Bernabéu. The main difference, however, as in the case of David Beckham, is that Ferguson wanted to sell Van Nistelrooy because of the belief that he was a disruptive influence, which is not the situation with Ronaldo.
“He’d be an important signing for Madrid because this is a club which signs the best players in the world, and that’s what Cristiano is,” Van Nistelrooy said. “Cristiano could bring a lot of things to this club. He’s young and has everything. For Madrid he would be a great signing.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article4076331.ece
