Ferguson would like to see Ronaldo return to United

SOCCER:Alex Ferguson has said he would like to see Cristiano Ronaldo one day return to Manchester United, though he admitted it was a "long way off".

Ronaldo spent six years at United before his world record £80 million (€98m) transfer in 2009 to Real Madrid, the club United face in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Asked if Ronaldo might come back and play for United, Ferguson said: “I don’t see that. I’d love to see that but it’s fanciful thinking, really. First of all how much it would take to get him from Real Madrid. And second, I don’t think there’s any chance they would want to sell him.

“But you never know. I don’t know when his contract finishes. He may want to go to another club at some point and I’d hope he would want to come here. But that’s a long way off.”

Ronaldo’s affection for United was underlined when he told the Spanish newspaper AS he would not go overboard if he found the back of the net in the Champions League. “I won’t celebrate if I score against United,” he said.

“I still speak with Ferguson. I miss him a lot and I miss Manchester United. I felt very good there; it was like a family. I had six great years there and am still friends with my team-mates. It is thanks to Manchester United that I am here playing for Real Madrid. Without them I wouldn’t be the player I am today.”

Real’s manager, Jose Mourinho, first gained major attention with his touchline celebration at Old Trafford when Porto beat United on the way to winning the European Cup in 2004.

Ronaldo’s transfer

Ferguson said: “I’ve not got a great record against Jose and I need to put that right. The main focus will centre around Cristiano. It will be a fantastic tie and hopefully we can get them back here with a good chance and the place will be buzzing. We’ve not had a really good European game for quite a while, having not qualified last year. This is a big opportunity.”

Ferguson also joked about checking the small print of Ronaldo’s transfer to Real Madrid to see if there is any way of stopping him playing against United. “Our contract with Real is that he can’t play against us,” laughed the Scot. “I think it would be a disgrace if he played against us. It would be no loyalty.”

Ferguson, meanwhile, has warned the rest of the Premier League to watch out if Manchester United are still top of the table on New Year’s Day. As they head into the four-game festive programme, United lead City by six points. “We have every right to expect a challenge. I think that’s what we are good at,” Ferguson said. “That’s why I’m looking at December as an opportunity to gather points and make sure we are top of the league come New Year’s Day.

“And if we are top of the league on New Year’s Day, you know fine well that we’re going to be in the ballpark at the end of the season. We know there are going to be challenges, it could come from Chelsea too, but I think City and ourselves will be battling it out.”

Last Saturday Roberto Mancini’s side responded to losing the Manchester derby by winning 3-1 at Newcastle United and Ferguson emphasised that City’s challenge will not fade. “Absolutely, it was great. It’s a wake-up call for us too,” Ferguson said. “I thought for the first 20 minutes, they played really well.”

New contract

Nemanja Vidic may start in tomorrow’s trip to Swansea City after returning from injury as a substitute against Sunderland. His fellow central defender Jonny Evans has signed a new contract that ties him to United until 2016.

Ferguson said: “We’re very happy about that and it’s in keeping with our normal policy that when the younger players get to the second last year of their contract we have to do something about it and I’m delighted Jonny has signed a new contract.”

Regarding speculation that Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes could retire in the summer, Ferguson added: “Scholes says very little and I would be surprised if he spoke to some pal without speaking to me. You’ve got to dismiss that and I think that Giggs will play for another year or two years. Rio’s form this year has been terrific. It’s the kind of speculation you expect because we only put older players on one-year contracts.”