SOCCER NEWS ROUND-UP:CRISTIANO RONALDO has confirmed he will remain at Manchester United for another season.
The Portugal winger has been linked with Real Madrid throughout the summer, with the Spanish club maintaining their interest even though United repeatedly stressed Ronaldo would not be sold.
At one point United even reported Real to Fifa such was their annoyance with officials at the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo has hinted at a wish to move but has never publicly confirmed his intentions.
However, in an interview to be published in Portugal today, while repeating his previously stated desire to play for Real, Ronaldo has also confirmed he will stay with United for another season at least.
"I will remain with Manchester United for at least another year," Ronaldo told Portuguese newspaper Publico.
He goes on to praise Alex Ferguson, who flew to Portugal just after Euro 2008 for talks with Ronaldo.
Ferguson returned in bullish mood, claiming he had a frank exchange with Ronaldo, who would be staying at United.
While his stance was viewed as posturing in a battle that would be waged until the transfer window finally closed on August 31st, the feeling in Manchester has been growing that Ronaldo has agreed to remain.
That belief was reinforced by Real's surprise announcement on Tuesday that the arrival of Rafael van der Vaart from Hamburg would represent their only major purchase of the summer.
Now Ronaldo has given United fans the news they were all hoping for. After scoring 42 goals last season as the club won the Premier League and Champions League double, Ronaldo is widely expected to be confirmed world footballer of the year in December.
His presence at Old Trafford is huge, even if he will be missing until the end of next month following ankle surgery.
Ferguson was always confident he would win the battle to keep Ronaldo but the news still represents a major coup for the Scot, who lost trusted assistant Carlos Queiroz, a close friend of the 23-year-old, to the Portugal national job last month.
Meanwhile, Ferguson has admitted he may end up not buying any new players this summer. The Manchester United manager has not added to his squad during the close-season, despite being linked with a string of targets.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward Dimitar Berbatov remains a target for Ferguson and talks will continue over other potential signings until the transfer deadline at the end of the month. However, despite injury problems that look certain to keep Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and half a dozen other senior players out of the opening Premier League game against Newcastle United a week on Sunday, Ferguson is in no hurry to part with United's funds.
"We might well start 2008-09 with largely the squad we had last season - after all, they didn't do too badly," he said. "We have not brought in the kind of top-quality player everyone seems to be expecting. We are still looking but it is not easy and certainly we are not desperate."
The Angola striker Manucho is due to apply for a work permit and the success of that, plus the emergence of Rafael da Silva at right-back and the failure to secure Berbatov for a price he feels is realistic could be enough to convince Ferguson he does not require any reinforcements. "We have the right balance of youth and experience thanks to the work we did in the transfer market the previous year," he said. "In terms of numbers, we have been boosted by the return from loan of several young players who have the potential to go all the way."
One of Ferguson's rivals, Arsene Wenger, has said it will be difficult to predict what would constitute a successful season for Arsenal but insisted he is looking to win both the title and the Champions League. His side will continue their preparations for the new campaign with a trip to the Amsterdam Tournament this weekend, after a youthful squad were fielded for last night's 2-1 victory at Huddersfield Town.
Arsenal have not picked up a trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2005, and Wenger has outlined his priorities for the new season. "What we would define as success this season is always a difficult question to answer," said Wenger. "But it is clear there are two trophies we are focused on: the Premier League and the Champions League."
