Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Manchester United's hopes of Cristiano Ronaldo return dealt a blow - The Guardian

Emilio Butragueño, the former Real Madrid striker who is now a senior executive at the club, has dampened the prospect of Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Manchester United this summer.

Sir Alex Ferguson has stated he would like to bring the Portuguese back to United, the club he left in the summer of 2009, and Ronaldo has also spoken of his ongoing affection for the Premier League leaders.

However, Butragueño, who is now a key powerbroker at Real, said: "Ronaldo is 28. He is under contract [until 2015] and we are very happy with him. We are delighted he is at Madrid. 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. We are very lucky that he plays for Real Madrid.

"He scores a goal a game on average. This is incredible. I have been watching football since I was three and never saw anything similar. When Ronaldo is on the pitch, you know you are going to score. It is an incredible advantage."

Madrid knocked United out of the Champions League last week and Butragueño added: "We are all focused on the important matters: the Champions League, Copa del Rey. These are our objectives. That is the most important thing for everyone at the club. We will see the draw for the quarter-final [of Champions League]. It is very difficult to win this competition. We will do our best. Every detail is important. We are very excited to be there. We will see what the future is for us."

Two months ago Ronaldo said: "I want to see out my contract at Real Madrid: I'm very clear about that. After that, well, I don't know what'll happen in the future." Despite this the subject of trying to prise him from Madrid is thought to have been raised at executive level at United.

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