Ronaldo's contract extended?

2008-08-08 22:32

Manchester - Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United on Friday as club manager Alex Ferguson said he wanted to extend the Portugal winger's contract and warned Real Madrid to stay away from his players.

After extracting a pledge of loyalty from Ronaldo for the coming season, Ferguson suggested it was a matter of personal pride not losing his prized asset to the Spanish champion.

'Dealing with different animal'

"I can't deny it was an important issue...there are very few players who left me against my will," Ferguson said on Friday.

"(Madrid) now know they are dealing with a different animal and Cristiano will settle down and enjoy his career here.

"He has got four years left on his contract and at some point hopefully we would like to extend it."

Ferguson has an unlikely ally in Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who welcomed Ronaldo staying as a victory for clubs over players.

Returned to training ground

"Somewhere common sense and contracts have prevailed," Wenger said on Friday. "You would not like to think that one of the biggest players in the world can just walk out and does not respect his contract."

Ronaldo, who is due to be out until October after ankle surgery, returned to United's training ground on Friday for the first time since winning the Champions League in May.

He spent the summer hinting at a desire to join Real Madrid, but Ferguson adamantly refused to sell his most prized asset, scorer of 42 goals last season.

- AP