All the transfer rumors in the world won’t do anyone any good – for now, at least. Cristiano Ronaldo is smiling, scoring an winning, and despite the lingering connection to Manchester United, amplified by the recent encounter with Real Madrid, it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.
Early season problems and the fact that Real Madrid looked like a social train wreck made it easy for the rumors of Ronaldo finding a new, or possibly old, team, easy to fly around. Heck, Ronaldo’s own words, about being sad, and “not about the money”, fueled the fires that speculated how much would it cost to sign him and which teams might have that kind of money.
The draw that setup Manchester United and Real Madrid was perfect, not just because of the star power such a clash entertains us with, but because of the Ronaldo connection, and the Alex Ferguson – Jose Mourinho lineage. However, not matter how many rumors and numbers are thrown in the air, it’s hard to believe Ronaldo will leave Real Madrid for a team that can’t afford his price, or the salary he thinks he should be earning.
While the clubs themselves refrain from saying anything official on the matter, it’s up to club legends to speak their minds. Bobby Charlton for Manchester United doesn’t see a chance in which Ronaldo comes back.
Signing Ronaldo has never even been mentioned in any of our board meetings, but he did go beyond being just a great player for us. He was just the right sort of person Manchester United had been looking for. But I once saw Real Madrid trying to get a player from another club, and I didn’t think very highly of it. I didn’t think it was right then and I still don’t now. Cristiano is a great player, who scores phenomenal goals and he loves the club – but he is not our player.
On the other side of the fence, at Real Madrid, Emilio Butragueno is the one doing the talking, with somewhat of a similar message about the chances of Ronaldo finding another team anytime soon. Guess: They’re tiny.
Cristiano is under contract and we are very happy with him. We are delighted he is at Madrid because he is a fantastic professional, and very ambitious in a positive way. His contribution to the team and the club has been amazing since he arrived. We are very grateful he came to us and are lucky he plays for Real Madrid. He scores a goal a game on average. This is incredible.
Teams like Real Madrid don’t sell their best players, even when it’s someone that has drama following him around every corner. He’s the most expensive footballer of all time and is likely to stay that way for a few more years without breaking his own record. Real Madrid aren’t always the best of teams, but they’re not a feeder club, unless they’re done with what the player has to give them. Ronaldo isn’t done yet.