MANCHESTER // Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed it was Manchester United's Champions League success last season which sparked his desire to join Real Madrid. The Portuguese winger confirmed he will remain at Old Trafford - for next season at least. He had made it clear he favoured a move to Spain that created the most high-profile transfer saga of the summer.
Ronaldo revealed the chance to be nearer to his family in Portugal was one factor pulling him towards the Spanish capital, and that, in winning the Champions League title, he had achieved everything possible in his five years with United. He said: "After we'd won the Champions League, I felt that in five years, I had helped win everything there was to win. "We'd won the Premier League twice and I'd won a host of individual awards, including the best goal-scorer in the Premier League, Champions League and in Europe. So, I felt that maybe I needed a new challenge.
"I never hid the fact that I wanted to play in Spain, at Real Madrid in particular, and I thought this could be the right moment. Manchester United and Real are probably the two biggest clubs in the world and it would never be an easy decision to make." Ronaldo was adamant the chance to be the world's most expensive player and receive a wage increase at Madrid was not an issue. "I knew that there would always someone who'd say that my main concern was making more money," he said.
"Others would insist that my vanity couldn't resist being linked to the biggest transfer fee of all time at the age of 23. Of course, I am proud to see my work recognised, but none of this had any major effect on what I wanted. In fact, if it was just a question of money, I would never leave Manchester United." Ronaldo was confident he will not get a bad reception from United fans. "It's possible but I hope it doesn't happen," he said. "I know I'm a good professional, I know that no one's harder on me than myself and that's never going to change, under any circumstances.
"The high point of my career was winning the Champions League. "No one will ever erase that from my memory, in the same way that no one will ever erase the fact that I did it in a Manchester United shirt. "What I said publicly, which was maybe a little naive, I take total responsibility for." The Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster believed it is a "shame" that Ronaldo has decided to stay in England, but has urged his club to put the matter behind them.
* PA Sport
