Fergie rules out Ronaldo exit
20 May 2008 - 17:05:15
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed reports suggesting Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo is set to leave Old Trafford and move to Real Madrid this summer.
Speaking on the eve of the Champions League final against Chelsea, the veteran Scot, when asked about whether Ronaldo would be staying with the Premier League winners, said: "If you want to put a bet on it I'll put a big bet on it."
Ferguson is confident his side can win European football's premier competition for the first time since 1999, adding: "Since we've won the championship we've had ten days good preparation.
"It's been a long hard season but I think we're in our best shape and hopefully good enough to win this trophy.
"There's a weakness in the amount of European trophies we've won and I hope we can go some way to making that better tomorrow night.
"We'll not have control for the whole of the game but we know enough about Chelsea's strengths and weaknesses to go into the game on an equal footing, and I trust my players.
"Chelsea are a stronger team than most and they base their game on that, but we don't need to match that. We need to play to our strengths - movement, passing and the ability to create openings in a game.
"So I don't want us to change that much, although we have to pay attention to players like (Didier) Drogba, (Michael) Ballack and (Frank) Lampard."