Cristiano Ronaldo ... I completely agree with the statements of the president, he is right. - AP
LISBON, Portugal (AP)
Cristiano Ronaldo escalated his rift with Manchester United yesterday by backing FIFA president Sepp Blatter's assertion that he is being treated like a slave by the Premier League club.
United's owners, the Glazer family, have vowed not to sell their star winger to Real Madrid, threatening instead to banish him to the stands.
Blatter believes that Ronaldo should be allowed to leave and not be made to remain at Old Trafford against his will.
"I completely agree with the statements of the president, he is right," Ronaldo told Portuguese broadcaster TVI yesterday.
Ronaldo reiterated his previously stated desire to join the Spanish champion, but no transfer request has been submitted and he has almost four years left on his United contract.
"You know what I said, what I want and what I would like," he said after leaving a physiotherapy session. "Now I have
to wait and see."
Sidelined
The 23-year-old Portuguese insisted he is still with the club he steered to triumphs in the Premier League and Champions League in May by scoring 42 goals.
"It is not true that I have agreement with Real Madrid," he said.
He said he did not know where he will begin the season, but he expects to be sidelined for 10 or 12 weeks while he recovers from Monday's surgery on his right ankle.
He said he would spend a further two weeks on crutches and it would be two months before he could kick a ball.
When Blatter was asked in a Sky News interview yesterday if he felt sympathy for Ronaldo's current position, he said: "Absolutely, absolutely."
He then urged United to sell Ronaldo if he asks to leave.
"We should also protect the player and if the player wants to play somewhere else, then a solution should be found," Blatter said. "Because if he stays in a club where he does not feel comfortable to play then it's not good for the player and for the club ... I'm always in favour to protect the player and if the player wants to leave, let him leave."
Blatter suggested that United was unfairly retaining Ronaldo, adding that "in football there is too much modern slavery."
Free negotiation
Those comments sparked widespread criticism, particularly from the Red Devils.
"All our players - like at other clubs - enter into their contracts after an open and free negotiation," United said. "Most of whom do after taking advice from a FIFA-registered agent.
"Many do so on a number of occasions and enjoy long and successful stays at Old Trafford."
UEFA, European football's governing body, believes that players - not clubs - are becoming more powerful.
"It would be useful to remind people that slaves in all of the slavery systems never earned a wage," said William Gaillard, UEFA president Michel Platini's special adviser. "It seems that both clubs and players are trying to negotiate an exit before the player is free."
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