Ferguson determined to convince Ronaldo about Man Utd stay

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson remains determined to sit down with Cristiano Ronaldo and convince him that his future is at Old Trafford.
 
Ronaldo declaration on Saturday night that he wants out of Old Trafford came after a flurry of text messages between himself and Wayne Rooney, with the England man urging the winger to stay.

Rooney is due to join up with United again in a fortnight while Ronaldo was given an extra few days off after Portugal's semi-final exit. Once back at Carrington, though, Ferguson planned sit the pair of them down and order them to bury their World Cup hatchet publicly. Rooney spoke to the Manchester United boss less than 12 hours after his red card against Portugal last Saturday, while Ronaldo made contact on Monday.

And both young stars were told in no uncertain terms that their feud must not be allowed to overshadow what seems certain to be Fergie's last season in charge at Old Trafford.

Ferguson made it clear he would not tolerate any splits in the United camp as he prepares for possibly the most important campaign of his life.

A source close to United told the People: "Sir Alex knew he had to do something to defuse the situation because there was no way he could let it fester until both Rooney and Ronaldo were back in training."

Ferguson's displeasure is thought to be behind the olive branch Rooney offered to Ronaldo.

Another United source said: "Fergie has said all along that he believes Rooney and Ronaldo are the two most important players he's got, especially as this looks like it will be his last season. He can't afford to lose either of them and that's why he was so adamant they had to patch things up."