Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo insists wants to stay at Manchester United and hopes to collect many more awards at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo, who was the subject of much speculation this summer over a possible move to Real Madrid, has vowed to bring his club to more success this season.
“I’ve been playing for Manchester for five years, I feel at home,” he told France Football at a celebratory dinner last night. ‘There have been prizes won by this club both collectively and individually. I’m happy at Manchester and want to stay.
”Today I have this individual award that makes me very happy, it’s the fulfilment of work that I have been doing for a long time. But I am ambitious. I have to keep on lifting individual and team trophies.’
At the ceremony itself Ronaldo had dismissed rumours he was still thinking about a move to Madrid.
”I hope everything will be good again this year,” he said on TF1. ”And that we’ll win the the Champions League again and the Premier League also, which is the club’s priority.
”It’s not the time to talk about other clubs at the moment. I’m happy here and I’m going to stay.”
Ronaldo, who beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Fernando Torres to the prize, said he needed to maintain his high standards.
“It’s always special to reach this level, the important thing is to stay there. The idea is to keep progressing.”
He also praised his team-mates. “Without my team I couldn’t have won it [the trophy] and I have to thank them also.”
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was effusive about Ronaldo, saying he could become a multiple winner of the award.
“I think that when a player gets to 26 that’s when they begin to mature so these next three or four years for Cristiano will prove my point. He’ll win more and I hope he’ll win them at Manchester United.”
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