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 |
|---|---|
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| 17:00 | Sporting Gijon vs Villarreal |
| 19:00 | Valencia vs Mallorca |
| 21:00 | Sevilla vs Malaga |
| Sunday 29th November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| 16:00 | Almeria vs Athletic Bilbao |
| 16:00 | Getafe vs Xerez |
| 16:00 | Racing Santander vs Deportivo La Coruna |
| 16:00 | Real Zaragoza vs Osasuna |
| 16:00 | Valladolid vs Tenerife |
| 18:00 | Barcelona vs Real Madrid |
| 20:00 | Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol |
| Sunday 6th December | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| 16:00 | Athletic Bilbao vs Valencia |
| 16:00 | Deportivo La Coruna vs Barcelona |
| 16:00 | Espanyol vs Racing Santander |
| 16:00 | Malaga vs Osasuna |
| 16:00 | Mallorca vs Real Zaragoza |
| 16:00 | Real Madrid vs Almeria |
| 16:00 | Sevilla vs Valladolid |
| 16:00 | Tenerife vs Sporting Gijon |
| 16:00 | Villarreal vs Getafe |
| 16:00 | Xerez vs Atletico Madrid |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| Villarreal 3 - 1 Valladolid | |
| Xerez 0 - 0 Sporting Gijon | |
| Mallorca 3 - 1 Almeria | |
| Espanyol 0 - 2 Getafe | |
| Osasuna 1 - 3 Valencia | |
| Malaga 1 - 1 Real Zaragoza | |
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| Tenerife 1 - 2 Sevilla | |
| Deportivo La Coruna 2 - 1 Atletico Madrid | |
| Real Madrid 1 - 0 Racing Santander | |
| Athletic Bilbao 1 - 1 Barcelona | |
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| Valladolid 0 - 0 Xerez | |
| Sporting Gijon 1 - 0 Espanyol | |
| Racing Santander 0 - 2 Athletic Bilbao | |
| Almeria 2 - 0 Osasuna | |
| Sevilla 3 - 2 Villarreal | |
| Valencia 3 - 1 Real Zaragoza | |
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Spanish Primera Liga | |
| Tenerife 2 - 2 Malaga | |
| Getafe 0 - 2 Deportivo La Coruna | |
| Atletico Madrid 2 - 3 Real Madrid | |
| Barcelona 4 - 2 Mallorca | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 11 | 28 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 11 | 27 |
| 3 | Sevilla | 11 | 25 |
| 4 | Valencia | 11 | 24 |
| 5 | Deportivo La Coruna | 11 | 22 |
| 6 | Real Mallorca | 11 | 20 |
| 7 | Sporting Gijon | 11 | 17 |
| 8 | Athletic Bilbao | 11 | 17 |
| 9 | Getafe | 11 | 15 |
| 10 | Espanyol | 11 | 13 |
| 11 | Villarreal | 11 | 12 |
| 12 | Osasuna | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | Almeria | 11 | 12 |
| 14 | Real Zaragoza | 11 | 12 |
| 15 | Real Valladolid | 11 | 10 |
| 16 | Tenerife | 11 | 10 |
| 17 | Racing Santander | 11 | 7 |
| 18 | Atletico Madrid | 11 | 7 |
| 19 | Xerez | 11 | 7 |
| 20 | Malaga | 11 | 6 |
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