Real Madrid chief Butragueno 'puts damper' on United's hope to re-sign Ronaldo
London, Mar 12 : Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno has played down suggestions of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the club for Manchester United this summer and claimed that the club is 'very lucky' to have the Portuguese forward in their squad.
Stressing Madrid's desire to keep Ronaldo at the Bernabeu, Butragueno said it is unlikely that Ronaldo may move to United, adding that delay in opening talks with Ronaldo is due to Madrid's on-field commitments, including the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, the Telegraph reports.
Expressing his delight with Ronaldo, who left Old Trafford for the Spanish champions in a record 80?million-pound transfer in 2009, Butragueno said that Ronaldo's professionalism and ambition has contributed greatly to Real Madrid, adding that the club is lucky to have him.
The director further said that Ronaldo is an advantage for Madrid as whenever he enters the pitch, it becomes a surety that Madrid is going to score, adding that he had never seen anyone like Ronaldo since he was a child.
Butragueno's claims will be a damper for United who has been striking a number of lucrative commercial deals to capitalise on the possibility of Ronaldo's failure to agree a new contract at Madrid.
However, despite the obvious financial challenge of funding a bid for Ronaldo, who is due to open contract talks with Madrid at the end of the season, senior figures at United have so far failed to publicly rule out an attempt to re-sign the 28-year-old, the report added.