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MANCHESTER, England -- Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo ended the close season's most drawn-out transfer saga Thursday, deciding to stick with European champion Manchester United for next season at least and spurning Real Madrid's efforts to sign him.
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Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, keenly aware the gifted goal scorer could face a hostile reception from home fans, issued a passionate defense of Ronaldo, who apologized for sparking the rift between the clubs.
Despite affirming his loyalty to the European and English champion for the upcoming season at least, the Portugal star still dreams of playing in Spain, saying he thought the world record-breaking transfer fee offered by Real Madrid and rejected by United would have been fair compensation for his departure.
"I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say the opposite of what I think, like some others do," Ronaldo was quoted as telling Thursday's edition of Portuguese newspaper Publico. "I said exactly what I thought: I have a dream of playing at Real and I thought it was time to move on. People can't be upset about me fulfilling a childhood dream."
Throughout the drawn-out transfer saga, which Ronaldo admits to stoking up, Ferguson reserved his anger for Madrid and shielded his prized asset.
Ferguson reacted sympathetically to Ronaldo's announcement that he intends to stay, urging fans to recognize why Ronaldo would have been tempted to move to Madrid and thus boost his weekly pay to $240,000.
The 23-year-old will only return to action in October after recovering from ankle surgery.
"The fans have got to understand that a young boy can be tempted by all this money," Ferguson said. "Particularly a young lad from Madeira.
"His father died (three years ago) when he was a young man and he's had to look after his mother, sister and brother."
Ronaldo said he was seeking a new challenge.
"After we'd won the Champions League, I felt that in five years I had helped win everything there was to win," Ronaldo said. "I never hid the fact that I wanted to play in Spain, at Real Madrid in particular, and I thought this could be the right moment."
Ronaldo last month backed FIFA president Sepp Blatter's claim that United was treating him like a slave by refusing to release him from a contract with four years remaining.
"One of the reasons I had the courage to say what I did was the fact that Manchester United would be fairly compensated," Ronaldo said. "The figure mentioned, which would be a world record, would serve as some compensation for the debt of gratitude that I owe the club, as least in material terms.
