Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said he's pleased Cristiano Ronaldo will remain at the club for at least another season.

``We can put this to bed now,'' Ferguson told the club's television station after United's 0-0 draw with Juventus last night. ``It's finished and the boy is a Manchester United player and that's the most important thing.''

Ronaldo has repeatedly said since the end of last season that he wants to leave the European soccer champion for Real Madrid, calling it his ``dream'' move. Ronaldo, who was the Premier League's top scorer with 42 goals last season, is contracted to United until 2012.

Portugal international Ronaldo, 23, will miss the start of the season after having surgery on his right ankle on July 7. Ferguson said he visited him to convince him to stay.

``I flew to Portugal some weeks ago and we cleared the air,'' he said. ``The boy has been through a troubled time in terms of the approaches from Spain, but once he knew my stance, he then settled down.''

Ronaldo told Portuguese newspaper Publico in an interview published today that he intended to remain at United ``for at least once more year.''

``I will play for United with all my heart and soul, I will fight and honor that shirt with the same commitment and dedication as always,'' Ronaldo was cited as saying.

Madrid was prepared to offer a record 70 million pounds ($136.4 million) for the winger, the Sun reported June 18.

United has always said Ronaldo isn't for sale and complained to world soccer ruling body FIFA in June, claiming Real Madrid ``continued to involve itself in the future'' of English soccer's two-time player of the year.

While FIFA took no action, it asked the Spanish soccer federation to remind Madrid about the ``potential legal consequences'' of inducing Ronaldo to break his contract.

``I was responsible for all this controversy,'' Ronaldo added. ``I was the one who publicly expressed my desire to go to Madrid and I ended up even being involuntary responsible for the poor relationship between the two clubs.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Dex McLuskey in Dallas at dmcluskey@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 7, 2008 00:01 EDT