Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo will not play for Real Madrid next season, and that the player has already given assurances as to his future.
Wenger: ‘Ronaldo Will Stay’
Ronaldo has been at the centre of football’s most expensive tug-of-war since May’s Champions League final ended with a Manchester United victory.
United and Real Madrid have been embroiled in an undignified scrap for the Portuguese, with the player leaning neither one way nor the other.
However, Arsene Wenger believes that the player will stay at Manchester United, as he has yet to confirm his desire to move on from Old Trafford. He also believes that the club would not give the kind of assurances that they have given, if the player were not intent on staying.
The Arsenal manager was speaking to the Sunday Mirror: “I think Ronaldo will stay at United because I cannot see the club making the kind of statements they have made if they have no assurance from Ronaldo that he will stay.
“Once a club of their stature say he will stay, he has to stay. If he doesn’t stay you look weak, weaker than if you said nothing at all.”
Wenger went on to criticise the transfer policies of the Spanish club, stating that their pursuit of players with any means necessary is ‘not right.’
He said: “It is not right what Real Madrid do, I agree. And there comes a point when somebody needs to make a stand against them.
“United have come out strongly at the moment and said ‘No’, and I give them credit for that. Maybe as well they know that the desire doesn’t really come from the player himself.
“It could be from another environment, from a club that has tapped him up. But it is not something that usually happens between big clubs. It’s not something you do.”
Even if United were to lose their star-player, Wenger believes that the effect on the team would be minimal.
He continued: “Even if Ronaldo goes it will be for big money and Manchester United will have enough financial power to replace him. United have not got the biggest problem.
“But for smaller clubs, it’s different.”
