Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo hints at possible move

Cristiano Ronaldo believes he'll be World Player of Year at Madrid
RONALDO SAGA CRISTIANO BREAKS HIS SILENCE AND UNITED WON'T BE HAPPY Superstar thinks he can only be World Player of the Year at Real

Cristiano Ronaldo will turn his back on Manchester United because he believes the club can give him everything EXCEPT the one thing he truly craves.

Ronaldo's behaviour towards Sir Alex Ferguson is the ultimate act of ingratitude after that way the United chief stood by him after the 2006 World Cup clash with Wayne Rooney.

Last night, as Old Trafford players attempted to persuade him to stay, the Portuguese demonstrated his contempt for the man who has made him what he is by insisting he had no interest in talking to the United chief. "I was in a very important competition and we had nothing to say to each other," said Ronaldo.

"I have to say what I want and what I think. It's my opinion and that's why I don't mind if people get upset. It's my decision, it's what I want."
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Fergie will be absolutely furious at the dismissive attitude of the player he had treated as a surrogate son, especially after the way he engineered the peace pact between Rooney and Ronaldo, making them realise that together they could realise all their footballing ambitions.

If that was not clear immediately, as Ronaldo picked up his first Premier League title in 2007 as well as scooping the Footballer of the Year and PFA awards, it surely was last month, when the winger left for Euro 2008 duty with a gleaming Champions League winners' medal clasped in his hand.

United can at least match - and probably beat - Real Madrid's financial appeal by offering Ronaldo a record-breaking salary package.

The sheer footballing power of the Premier League, too, means they can virtually guarantee the 23-year-old more of the biggest silverware in the game, starting with December's World Club Championship tilt in Japan. After all, for two years running, three of the four Champions League semi-finalists have represented English football.

And where the money is, so comes the glory.

But the one individual honour that really matters to Ronaldo is FIFA's World Player of the Year trophy. Ronaldo admitted: "Of course it is my aim to be the best in the world. I want to be the best in the world and that's what I work towards every day.

"But only God knows whether I will one day manage to win that prize which is so important for me as a player."

Ronaldo has looked at the list of previous winners of the World Player of the Year prize and decided he has to move to Madrid to fulfil his single biggest ambition.

In the 17 years since the prize was inaugurated, not a single English-based player has ever won, with nine of the winners plying their trade in La Liga, including four - Luis Figo, the Brazilian star Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Fabio Cannavaro - for Real Madrid.

It was that knowledge, and the depth of Ronaldo's desire to be lauded as the planet's global superstar in Zurich next December, and for a few years afterwards, that has brought about what will be a bitter, fractious but inevitable parting of the ways.

Speaking in the aftermath of Portugal's Euro 2008 exit under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Ronaldo made the emotions behind his imminent decision abundantly clear.

"It is a personal thing. It is something I want, something I dream of," explained Ronaldo to guillembalague.com. "And it is true that my family dreams of it too. We were competing and I didn't want to say anything because it is a very important decision.

"I didn't want to say anything here because I wanted to be focused on Portugal. But now it is finished and I am going to say. You all know what I want. I cannot say anything else.

"Of course it will be difficult to get out of United. It is always difficult. It is not only one person deciding, it is many people, but it can be a very good thing for everybody. But what I have, it is a dream, a step forward, you can call it what you want.

"For me it is a great opportunity, and as Scolari says, that train passes by only once, and we have to take advantage of it.

"That is why, he took advantage of his change, that opportunity, and other people have to take advantage of opportunities too."

That mention of the new Chelsea manager will only serve to infuriate Ferguson even more, with the United boss having convinced himself that Scolari has deliberately pointed Ronaldo towards the Old Trafford exit door to improve his chances of recapturing the crown for the Blues.

But Ronaldo is determined to take the opportunity now, irrespective of what the United fans think.

"People will be upset with me in Manchester but that will pass," he added dismissively. "A couple of good goals and people will be happy."

He is wrong. Just as he is wrong to quit United now.

But Ronaldo has made up his mind. And his quest for individual glory is the driving force taking him to Madrid.

WHAT UNITED CAN DO NEXT

The realistic option

Accept that Ronaldo is going and then make sure Real Madrid break the bank to sign him, holding out for the world record price of £70m-plus the Bernabeu side would happily pay to land their man.