MADRID: Real Madrid’s re-elected president Florentino Perez is confident that shortly Cristiano Ronaldo will commit his long-term future to the club and thus end mischievous speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United or Paris Saint-Germain.

The Portuguese superstar has been reluctant to discuss an extension to his current contract but Perez is convinced he has no desire to leave the Spanish capital and is merely biding his time before agreeing fresh terms.

Perez said: “I am going to be as clear as possible. My aim, Cristiano’s aim, and the aim of all Real Madrid fans is that he carries on playing here for many years to come. When so many people want the same thing, then it usually turns out to be the case. I myself and Real Madrid both want that.

“The player, Cristiano Ronaldo, also wants that. Without a shadow of a doubt, that is what Cristiano wants too.

“We are always talking with him. If you are asking me if we’ve talked about money, then the answer is no because the time isn’t right yet. That will have to wait until after he comes back from holiday.”

Long-stay target

Perez feels talk of a possible move for Ronaldo has been wildly exaggerated, with the 28-year-old still tied to Real until 2015.

He added: “We want him and what is more we already have him. He has two years left on his contract. Anyone would think he was leaving tomorrow. What we would like is for him to stay even longer.

“The future of our project revolves around him. Teams always depend largely on one great player. At one time it was (Alfredo) Di Stefano, later on it was (Zinedine) Zidane. Now it is clear the focus is on Ronaldo. There is nothing better than having the best player in the world in your team.

“We believe Ronaldo will go down in the club’s history as being on a par with Di Stefano.”

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