CRISTIANO RONALDO'S godfather, Fernao Sousa, has claimed that the Manchester United winger has already decided to move to Real Madrid. Sousa, who took Ronaldo to Sporting Lisbon as an 11-year-old and later advised him to move to Manchester, is sure that "Cristiano should take this opportunity to go to Real Madrid".
The Portuguese player's godfather told Spanish newspaper Marca: "I believe that he has decided he is going to Real Madrid but he is not going to say so until after the European Championship."
Sousa is not the only member of Ronaldo's family backing a move to the Bernabeu. His mother, Dolores Aveiro, has made no secret of her wish for the 23-year-old to play for the Spanish champions. "Madrid is my team, the best team in the world, and I'd like him to go there," she told the Spanish newspaper As. "I love Madrid and I would go and live with him."
However, Real Madrid's president, Ramon Calderon, sounded a more downbeat note. "Manchester have already said that they are not selling the player and we can't buy something that the owner doesn't want to sell. We've said it many times and also we don't want a conflict with a club like Manchester with whom we have good relations. Things are as they are and we have to forget about it."
The English Premier League champion's assistant manager, Carlos Queiroz, took a new swipe at Real and the club's culture.
Quieroz, who coached Real during the the 2003/04 season before being sacked, told Diario de Noticias: "The current chairman of Real Madrid was my manager, and I know what he told me and what happens in the end. I have the advantage of knowing the differences between the two clubs .
"In Madrid, our role was to serve as a kind of wrapping paper. We were to bring Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane to light. But they don't know what recognition and gratitude are there."
On Real's pursuit of Ronaldo, Queiroz added: "It's not hard to hold onto Ronaldo. At Manchester United we can offer pretty much the best conditions. But we can't compete in terms of ethics - because we won't abandon them. Nor is there the promiscuity between United and the English press that exists in Spain, Portugal or Italy.
"Is Ronaldo pressing for an exit? That's something you'd need to ask him."
United striker Carlos Tevez yesterday admitted he has ambitions of playing in Spain. When asked if he will play in La Liga, however, Tevez distanced himself from a move in the near future. "Maybe one day I will play in the Spanish league but there's a long way to go," he said. "At the moment I am happy here.
"I know that many South Americans prefer to play in Italy or Spain when they move to Europe, but I am very happy to have come here.
"It is the best league in the world and here I am with some of the best footballers in the world."
Meanwhile, Roberto Mancini, who was dismissed as Internazionale coach on Thursday, has threatened to sue the club.
In a statement announcing his sacking, Inter cited Mancini's comments, made after losing to Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final in March, that he planned to resign at the end of the season. The club also mentioned media reports involving Mancini but did not elaborate. It is thought this referred to the transcripts of intercepted phone calls between Mancini and Domenico Brescia, who was recently arrested in a drug probe, which were published in Italian newspapers. Both men have denied any wrongdoing.
Mancini said yesterday that Inter's decision "originates from events that seriously offended my honour and my reputation. The illegal diffusion was denounced in the competent courts and I have told my lawyer to protect my image in all legitimate arenas and to stigmatise the actions of my employer that has attempted to take advantage of false and illegal events".
Guardian Service
