Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo went against Sir Alex Ferguson's wishes and snubbed Barcelona in favour of Los Blancos in 2009.
The Portugal forward sealed a then world-record £80m switch to the Spanish capital following a successful spell with Manchester United.
However, Calderon has now revealed that the Scot, then the manager of United, was not keen on selling Ronaldo to Real and offered him to the Catalan giants, only for the 29-year-old to reject a move to Camp Nou.
"It is totally true. In the few weeks he tried to avoid him going to Real Madrid, offering him to Barcelona," he told talkSPORT. "Barcelona were very happy but in that moment it was very crucial as Ronaldo said: 'I'm not going to any other club but Real Madrid'.
"Real Madrid got the best player in the world and Cristiano got what he wanted because players like him are not only looking for money, they look for glory, and they look for anyone who is giving them that opportunity to win titles, to be the best in the world, to win golden boots."
"That's why we signed the deal. Everyone was happy: Manchester United got the £80 million. There are only three, four or five clubs that can give him what he wants."
Ronaldo has gone to prove value-for-money since moving to the Santiago Bernabeu, scoring over 230 goals for Madrid so far.
Shane Callaghan
