The interview was given prior to the European Championships but there are a couple of interesting responses, not least of which is the 'plan' to take the OT capacity to 100,000.
Every morning when you read newspaper or switch on the television and you read and hear that you're off to Barcelona or Real Madrid.
I don't read the papers anymore. It just goes on and on. I don't know where these rumours are coming from. Probably from Spain because in England I held a press conference. I was so tired of it that I sat down with Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane. We gave a press conference. I sat there specially to clear up all the rumours. I didn't care because I knew the rumours were not true. The manager and the players know this, but supporters were getting unsettled. I made it clear that I'm staying at Manchester United. The supporters thought I would let the club down. If I ordered a pizza they would write a message at the inside of the box. They begged me to stay, that was upsetting for me because I wasn't planning to leave. I have extended my contract until 2008 and I'm happy with that and the club is happy with it. So why would I leave?
Do you really think Cristiano Ronaldo is a great talent? His moves seem so unnecessary I don't think he's effective as a footballer.
Ronaldo is really a big talent and I see that everyday at training. He has to become more effective, he knows that. That show element is locked up in him. He loves to play beautiful football, but you can't always do that. A lot of times the cross comes too late and I have a defender near me. But he's working hard at it and it's getting better and better.
Aren't there a lot of average footballers walking around at club like Manchester United?
Arsenal and Chelsea have a huge selection of star players. The manager here is building a new team. He has chosen for young talents and not for mega stars. I'm sure it will be a strong squad next season. There will be some adjustments, but Alex Ferguson has loads of experience. He knows exactly what he has to do. When I first came here we didn't win anything and a year later we had a winning team. I have the greatest of confidence in the manager. Just look at his record.
Before you signed the contract with the club did you ask the manager about the future of Manchester United
Yes it didn't go just about money. The manager has explained his plans to me. What he's planning and what his goals are. His plans satisfied me. Then it was very simple. The next day I signed my contract. A new squad is being built, which is supposed to win the Champions League. I want to be part of that. When my contract expires I'm 32. I want to serve these 4 years. Manchester United has become my club. We feel at home here, we are happy here we don't need to move to Spain. Ferguson is building on his third Squad and I want to be part of that, I want to work with him on that.
Manchester United is constantly on the move because now they are going to rebuild Old Trafford.
That's what makes it so interesting; I want to be part of that. Manchester United is a huge name. You can't imagine how big the club is. I have never seen a empty seat in the the stadium. Now the corners of the stadium are going to be rebuilt and 75.000 people will be able to visit the stadium. And there are other plans ready to rebuild the stadium so a 100.000 people can enter old Trafford. The club is amazingly popular, but the people who don't support United really hate the club. Anything but United, that's what they say.