By Rob Harris
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has made a passionate defence of Cristiano Ronaldo as the winger backed out of his demand for a move to Real Madrid and apologised for having sparked the rift between two of Europe's leading clubs.
The Portuguese superstar yesterday affirmed his loyalty to the European and English champions for the upcoming season at least, but made it clear that he was still dreaming of playing in Spain. He said he thought the world-record-breaking transfer fee offered by the Primera Liga winners, but rejected by United, would have been fair compensation for his departure from Old Trafford.
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"I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say the opposite of what I think, like some others do," the Portuguese newspaper Publico on Thursday quoted Ronaldo as saying. "I said exactly what I thought: I have a dream of playing at Real and I thought it was time to move on. People can't be upset about me fulfilling a childhood dream."
Throughout the drawn-out transfer saga, which Ronaldo admitted to having stoked, Ferguson reserved his anger for the Spanish club and shielded his prized asset.
The United boss reacted sympathetically to Ronaldo's announcement that he intended to stay, urging fans to recognise why the highly talented Portuguese would have been tempted to move to Madrid.
Ferguson wants to defuse any animosity from fans questioning the loyalty of the 23-year-old who will only return to action in October following ankle surgery.
"The fans have got to understand that a young boy can be tempted by all this money, particularly a young lad from Madeira," Ferguson said. "His father died (three years ago) when he was a young man and he's had to look after his mother, sister and brother."
Ronaldo said he was seeking a new challenge. "After we'd won the Champions League, I felt that in five years I had helped (the club) win everything there was to win.
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