Gill: United The Club For Trophies, Not Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo was keen to leave Manchester United last summer but after having a word with Sir Alex Ferguson, changed his mind. Having a long term contract at the club which brought him through from a skinny, one-trick pony teenager, to the best player in the World, meant he didn’t have much room for negotiation.

Ronaldo returned to Manchester and said he was more than happy to do so. He has reiterated his feelings of happiness several times this season, although has repeatedly refused to 100% confirm that he will be here next season, claiming only God knows the future.

With Real Madrid elections going on, David Gill has predicted further interest in Ronaldo this season, but claims the clubs’ stance is as strong as ever, and that our most effective player will still be here next year.

“We made it clear last year he’s on a long-term contract with us and it’s never come up,” said Gill, claiming no further conversation with Ronaldo concerning his future has taken place. “He’s been fantastic both on and off the pitch throughout, he’s supported us in what we want to do commercially and he’s been a model professional. He is not for sale. He’s a great player and he’s part of our club. I’m sure the Spanish press will start rumours and start that whole process going again. There’s an election as we know at Real Madrid and we’ve seen it all before with many of our players over the years since I’ve been with the club, and that will happen. But we’re not prepared to use the papers in that way at Manchester United and I think we’ve got to be confident that Cristiano will stay. He’s had an excellent season, he didn’t score as many goals as last year but nonetheless is the top scorer in the Premier League, he is a fantastic player. All we know is you just have to see our dressing room after the game yesterday, after we win a trophy. Footballers want to win things and I think any footballer would recognise he has much more chance of winning things, certainly in the short to medium term, at Manchester United than Real Madrid.”