Real’s attempt to sign Ronaldo is now ‘dead’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has denied the existence of any agreement by which Manchester United will sell Cristiano Ronaldo to the Primera Liga champions at the end of this season. Spanish newspaper reports had claimed that a Real director had been overheard talking about the alleged accord, prompting a furious response from United manager Sir Alex Ferguson who said he “wouldn’t sell a virus” to the Madrid club.
“It’s absolutely false that there is any agreement with Manchester United on that subject, about which I am already tired,” Calderon said. “The issue is completely dead and that’s why I don’t want to talk about it any more. Manchester did not agree to sell Ronaldo to Real Madrid last summer. From that moment Real Madrid had other goals.”
Ryan Giggs, meanwhile, is crossing his fingers the draining effects of jet-lag do not have a negative influence on United’s hopes of a Premier League title hat-trick. United appeared to show no ill-effects on Thursday, booking a place in tomorrow’s World Club Cup final against Liga de Quito at the expense of Gamba Osaka.
Yet Giggs confirmed both he and a number of his team-mates were still struggling with sleep deprivation. He said: “I hope it won’t have a knock-on effect to our title defence. We don’t know how it will affect us next Friday [against Stoke]. It has been quite difficult over here. I have not slept much, four or five hours sleep a night really.
“You just have to prepare the best you can. It is a bit of a problem. We have a squad big enough to handle the games and we hope that, come that game against Stoke, we have got over it.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments