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Published 11:42 23 Sept 2016 BST
Updated 12:38 4 Apr 2022 BST
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'I found the boy expressing an urge to go to Real Madrid, and told him: 'You can't go this year, not after the way Calderon has approached the issue.' I said, 'I know you want to go to Real Madrid, but I'd rather shoot you than sell you to that guy now. If you perform, don't mess us about, and someone comes and offers us a world record fee, then we will let you go.' I had already conveyed that message to his agent Jorge Mendes. I did well to calm him down. I told him the reason I was refusing to sell him that year was because of Calderon. I said, 'If I do that, all my honour's gone, everything's gone for me, and I don't care if you have to sit in the stands. I know it won't come to that, but I just have to tell you I will not let you leave this year.'Ferguson later informed United's then-chief executive, David Gill, who relayed the message to the Glazer family. Concerned that the details of the agreement would reach the public domain, Ferguson adds how he warned Ronaldo to that effect. The agreement served all parties well. Ferguson would have a year to identify something close to an adequate replacement (or, as it turned out, Antonio Valencia, Michael Owen and Gabriel Obertan) while reaping the benefits of being able to call on Ronaldo's brilliance for another season. As for the player, with the incentive to perform well and earn the move he so desperately craved, he helped United to another Premier League title and the League Cup. Were it not for Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, his final act as a United player might have been to win his second Champions League title in succession.
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