Ronaldo Gives The Word: I Stay

The Portugal international's future has been the subject of intense speculation for most of the summer after he originally voiced his desire for a transfer to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón has made no secret of his wish to sign Ronaldo, having stated to the press that the ex-Sporting man would be a welcome addition at Santiago Bernabéu.

But Ronaldo has now guaranteed that he will stay at Old Trafford at least one more season, thus confirming Sir Alex Ferguson's allegations in which he stressed the affair to be a "closed case".

"Ferguson heard my arguments, I heard his and, in fact, it was settled that the best for both parties would be for me to stay. Therefore, I can confirm that, next season, I will play for Manchester United," he told Publico.

"And, before rumours emerge saying that I will play against my will, I want to make this clear: whoever says or writes that is lying. I will play for Manchester with all my heart and soul. I will fight and honour that shirt with the same commitment and dedication as always."

Ronaldo has also taken the blame for this transfer saga, which lasted for several months and damaged Manchester United's relationship with Real Madrid.

"I want to assume the responsibility for all this controversy," Ronaldo added. "It was not their fault because I was the one who publicly expressed my desire to go to Real Madrid. I ended up being, even involuntarily, the responsible one for the poor relationship between the two clubs."

He further added that his dream of playing for the Merengues is real and does not close the door on a future move to Santiago Bernabéu.

"I knew that Real Madrid were interested in signing me and that they had allegedly made a very high offer to Manchester United. My desire was, for some time, that Manchester had accepted my transfer to Madrid. Saying otherwise would be to trick people and my own consciousness," he noted.

The complete interview with Cristiano Ronaldo will be released tomorrow.