The Guardian:
Manchester United's robust announcement that they would not allow Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Old Trafford was undermined by suggestions last night that he had been plotting his departure for the last 10 months. Sir Alex Ferguson's inquiries are understood to have indicated that Ronaldo broached the subject with his agent Jorge Mendes last September and that potential buyers were informed shortly after that it would be his final season in England.
The evidence gathered by Ferguson is said to show the strength of Ronaldo's feeling and reaffirms that his desire to leave has nothing to do with the fallout from Wayne Rooney's sending-off in the World Cup. Ronaldo first publicly stated that he wanted to sign for Real Madrid a week before the England-Portugal game and Ferguson suspects that the incident with Rooney is being used as an excuse.
Ronaldo's team-mates are said to be bemused by his claims that he has not had any support from Ferguson or the club's owners, the Glazer family, after being vilified for the underhand tactics he showed in the World Cup. It is a standing joke among United players that Ronaldo is teacher's pet so far as Ferguson and his assistant Carlos Queiroz are concerned.
Ferguson is dismayed by Ronaldo's stance during what has become a fraught summer for the United manager. While Chelsea signed Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack, Salomon Kalou and, to Ferguson's intense irritation, Jon Obi Mikel, United have failed to keep their chief executive David Gill's promise that all their transfer business would be completed before the World Cup. Deals have provisionally been put in place to sign Michael Carrick from Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion's goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak but, when it comes to more glamorous targets, the club's pulling power appears to have waned.
The Sun:
Cristiano Ronaldo has told Alex Ferguson he fears for his life if he stays at Manchester United.
The Portugal star's worries were outlined by his agent as United stood firm and refused to let him leave.
His representatives believe a genuine security threat could give him grounds for breaking his contract after the Wayne Rooney bust-up at the World Cup.
But Fergie sought to reassure Ronaldo that his security will not be at risk during talks with his agent Jorge Mendes.
Ronaldo, 21, was horrified to learn his home was vandalised by yobs.
Now he is afraid the hate mob blaming him for Rooney's red card and England's World Cup quarter-final exit will target him personally next time.
Ronaldo, now the most hated man in football, is worried he faces more extreme reprisals — especially after his Cheshire home was vandalised last weekend.
The player's agent passed that message on to United officials yesterday as they talked over his Old Trafford future.
United have worked hard to reassure Ronaldo — who has stated his desire to join Real Madrid — he will come to no harm.
The club insist the Beckham episode taught them a lot of valuable lessons.United refused to comment directly on the talks.