Football: Fergie rules out Ronaldo return

Ferguson spoke to Ronaldo after Madrid's champions league first-leg defeat to Barcelona.

LONDON: Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out any prospect of Cristiano Ronaldo making a dramatic return to Manchester United following hints of a rift between the player and Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho.

Ronaldo, who left United for Real in 2009 for a world record £80 million, expressed his dismay at Mourinho’s negative tactics after the club’s stormy Champions League semi-final defeat to Barcelona this week.

Ferguson, who has maintained a close relationship with Ronaldo, spoke to the player after travelling to Madrid to watch Wednesday’s semi-final.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2011.