Ronaldo snubs United, extends Real deal
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, September 16, 2013
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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his goal against Villarreal in a La Liga match on Sep.14, 2013. |
Real Madrid has moved to tie Cristiano Ronaldo to the club until the end of the 2017-18 season by agreeing a three-year contract extension with the prolific Portugal forward.
The announcement of the deal yesterday ended speculation about a possible return to Manchester United in 2015 when his previous deal expired.
Ronaldo left the English Premier League club in 2009 to join Real for what was then a world-record fee of 94 million euros (US$125 million).
Big-spending Real President Florentino Perez and the 28-year-old Ronaldo signed the new contract at the Bernabeu stadium and appeared before the media at a glitzy ceremony on the giant arena's VIP tribune.
Neither Ronaldo, who said 2018 could mark the end of his career, nor Perez provided details about his salary, but Spanish media reported that his net annual wage would rise to 17 million euros, making him one of the world's best-paid players.
Wearing a dark blue jacket, light shirt and blue patterned tie and with a jewelled stud glittering in each ear, Ronaldo admitted there had been interest from other clubs, including Qatar-owned Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain.
He was also asked about United and appeared to rule out a return to the city where he spent six years after joining from Sporting Lisbon in 2003.
"Everyone knows I was in Manchester for six years and it was a club that give me many, many things and I don't forget that," Ronaldo told reporters. "But Manchester, it's the past.
"Now my club in the present is Real Madrid, this is my home, my family it's here and I am really happy here.
"The future nobody knows but I am really happy here. I just want to win trophies for this club and I appreciate that the fans still like me a lot to be here."
Ronaldo's renewed commitment to Real is excellent news for the nine-time European champion and comes two days before it begin its latest bid for the 10th continental crown that has eluded it since 2002.
Ronaldo will likely line up alongside record signing Gareth Bale, who eclipsed the Portuguese as the most valuable player in soccer when he joined from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of 100 million euros this month, in tomorrow's Champions League Group B opener at Galatasaray.
Wales winger Bale scored on his Real debut in Saturday's 2-2 La Liga draw at Villarreal, while Ronaldo netted his 203rd goal in his 203rd official game for the Spanish giant.
"Today is a magnificent day for Real Madrid," Perez, who has spent hundreds of millions of euros of the club's money to try to return it to the summit of world football, said yesterday.
After Real's draw, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid remain the only perfect teams through four rounds in the league following their wins on Saturday.
Barcelona needed an injury-time goal from Alexis Sanchez to edge Sevilla 3-2 after conceding two late goals at home, while Atletico rolled to a 4-2 win over Almeria. "That last goal was all heart," Alexis said.
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