No Ronaldo doubts

Sir Alex Ferguson never had any doubts that Cristiano Ronaldo would sign a new contract at United – and now the Reds boss says fans can look forward to years more of a player with “the same skill factor as Maradona and Pele."

The 22-year-old has pledged his future to United until 2012 and Sir Alex says Ronaldo is at the right club to continue his astronomical development.

"Without question, Cristiano is getting to the level of best player in the world,” added the United boss. “It is up to others to decide whether he is as good as Maradona and Pele. That is the challenge in front of him now.

"He is one of the best signings I have ever made. The measurement of his improvement this year is astronomical. In terms of top flight football, where do you find a winger who has scored 20 goals. It is incredible.”

Though Sir Alex says he was always sure Ronaldo would put pen to paper on a new deal, the speculation emanating from Spain that Real Madrid and Barcelona are eyeing a move for the Portuguese winger, must surely have been a concern.

“I had no doubts, but I think everyone else did outside Old Trafford,” added the boss. “I was confident about Cristiano signing because he’s happy here, his family are happy here and he’s at the right club.

“What we did was believe that Cristiano is at the right club. He believes that, too. Essentially, there was no reason for him to think about leaving. He’s well liked at the club, there is a
good atmosphere in the dressing room and he is playing in front of 76,000 people every week.”

Sir Alex did, however, deliver stinging criticism of the transfer tactics employed in Spain.

“They keep talking in Spain the way they do and unsettling clubs like ourselves,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to them, I don’t think they have any care for Manchester United or anyone else when they decide to put their net out for the best players in the world. They’ve shown that over the years, they don’t have any regard for how you feel.

“It seems to happen time and time again. There’s no point in reporting it to UEFA or FIFA. It wouldn’t matter to them if you fined them. When it goes on and on, you start looking at the substance to it. It’s a game they play in their election process.

“People perceive Real Madrid as a club of galacticos or whatever it is they call them. It’s a pre-conceived notion about themselves. Barcelona are also a fantastic club, but you can’t say either club is miles in front of Manchester United. I think most people recognise that we are one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

But the indisputable fact is that Ronaldo is a United player, under contract for a further five years. In that time, Sir Alex says the player has no limitations as to how good he can become. “I think he is the best player in the world, I really do,” he said. “He will continue to improve because the measure of his development is astronomical.”

Read more...