By Graeme Bailey Last updated: 11th December 2008
Calderon: Blaming Ronaldo over transfer saga
The player said he wanted to come here.
Ramon Calderon
Quotes of the week
Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has insisted to Sky Sports News that the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga was instigated by the player.
Real and Manchester United clashed over the newly crowned European Footballer of the Year, as the Spanish giants looked to clinch his signature in the summer.
Sir Alex Ferguson and United chiefs stood firm over Ronaldo and shunned Real at every turn.
Now Calderon insists that Real only pursued Ronaldo after the player made it clear he wanted to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
"We have left that, it has been a very big story which we didn't provoke," Calderon told Sky Sports News.
"The player said he wanted to come here, a dream to come to Real Madrid and we received and we were happy to know that.
"After that I talked to Manchester but David Gill was very clear and said they didn't want to sell at all.
"We want to have a good relation with all the big clubs in Europe and Manchester is one of the best and I like to have a good relationship with them forever, and they said for the moment no."
Calderon added that he thought the media were to blame for much of the Ronaldo situation.
"I know the media in general to give excitement to their readers and listeners and Cristiano Ronaldo is a fantastic player and he has won the golden ball and I congratulate him on that and I wish him the best, anywhere he is going to be in the future."
Ferguson Ronaldo Who Goes First ? Win Special: Ronaldo 4/7| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| 16:00 | Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona |
| 16:00 | Deportivo La Coruna vs Atletico Madrid |
| 16:00 | Espanyol vs Getafe |
| 16:00 | Malaga vs Real Zaragoza |
| 16:00 | Mallorca vs Almeria |
| 16:00 | Osasuna vs Valencia |
| 16:00 | Real Madrid vs Racing Santander |
| 16:00 | Tenerife vs Sevilla |
| 16:00 | Villarreal vs Valladolid |
| 16:00 | Xerez vs Sporting Gijon |
| Sunday 29th November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| 16:00 | Almeria vs Athletic Bilbao |
| 16:00 | Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol |
| 16:00 | Barcelona vs Real Madrid |
| 16:00 | Getafe vs Xerez |
| 16:00 | Racing Santander vs Deportivo La Coruna |
| 16:00 | Real Zaragoza vs Osasuna |
| 16:00 | Sevilla vs Malaga |
| 16:00 | Sporting Gijon vs Villarreal |
| 16:00 | Valencia vs Mallorca |
| 16:00 | Valladolid vs Tenerife |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| Sevilla 3 - 2 Villarreal | |
| Valencia 3 - 1 Real Zaragoza | |
| Almeria 2 - 0 Osasuna | |
| Racing Santander 0 - 2 Athletic Bilbao | |
| Sporting Gijon 1 - 0 Espanyol | |
| Valladolid 0 - 0 Xerez | |
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| Atletico Madrid 2 - 3 Real Madrid | |
| Barcelona 4 - 2 Mallorca | |
| Getafe 0 - 2 Deportivo La Coruna | |
| Tenerife 2 - 2 Malaga | |
| Sunday 1st November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| Deportivo La Coruna 1 - 1 Sporting Gijon | |
| Malaga 0 - 1 Valencia | |
| Real Zaragoza 2 - 1 Almeria | |
| Mallorca 1 - 0 Racing Santander | |
| Espanyol 1 - 1 Valladolid | |
| Villarreal 5 - 0 Tenerife | |
| Saturday 31st October | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| Athletic Bilbao 1 - 0 Atletico Madrid | |
| Osasuna 1 - 1 Barcelona | |
| Xerez 0 - 2 Sevilla | |
| Real Madrid 2 - 0 Getafe | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 10 | 26 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 10 | 25 |
| 3 | Sevilla | 9 | 19 |
| 4 | Deportivo La Coruna | 10 | 19 |
| 5 | Valencia | 9 | 18 |
| 6 | Real Mallorca | 10 | 17 |
| 7 | Sporting Gijon | 9 | 13 |
| 8 | Espanyol | 9 | 13 |
| 9 | Athletic Bilbao | 9 | 13 |
| 10 | Osasuna | 9 | 12 |
| 11 | Getafe | 10 | 12 |
| 12 | Real Zaragoza | 9 | 11 |
| 13 | Tenerife | 10 | 10 |
| 14 | Villarreal | 9 | 9 |
| 15 | Real Valladolid | 9 | 9 |
| 16 | Almeria | 9 | 9 |
| 17 | Racing Santander | 9 | 7 |
| 18 | Atletico Madrid | 10 | 7 |
| 19 | Malaga | 10 | 5 |
| 20 | Xerez | 9 | 5 |
Sunderland fan Lucinda Gittins was strutting her stuff in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Guillem Balague wonders if Atletico Madrid's new coach can mastermind a shock win over Real.
Quique Sanchez Flores told Revista he is relishing the job on his hands at Atletico Madrid.
Sevilla closed on top spot with a win over Villarreal whilst Valencia kept up the chase against Real Zaragoza.
Barcelona remain unbeaten and continue to lead the way, but Real Madrid are hot on their heels.
Robinho's father has revealed that the Manchester City attacker's future is far from certain.
Real Madrid have refused Portugal permission to call-up Cristiano Ronaldo for the games against Bosnia.
Sergio Aguero believes Atletico are more than capable of winning the Madrid derby on Saturday.