Cristiano Ronaldo

By Matt Lawton
May 21 2009

With the Queen and Prince Phillip officially opening Genesis' Leigh Sports Village Stadium home today, they aren't the only big names in the area, with a sighting of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo in Leigh sparking rumours of a potential transfer to Leigh Genesis.

Ronaldo was in Leigh filming a television advertisement, and is likely to remain in town when visiting the impressive Leigh Sports Village complex, along with the Royal party, later today, at which point Ronaldo is expected to begin negotiations with Genesis boss Garry Flitcroft.

Ronaldo is already a local resident, owning a holiday home close to the picturesque Westleigh Brook, and would welcome a move to Genesis, away from the pressure of playing for Manchester United, allowing the Portugese winger to begin to enjoy his football again, whilst also experiencing a new lease of life without the hassles of travelling across Europe every other week.

Ronaldo is rumoured to have been a keen admirer of Leigh for many years, and in a recent magazine interview stated that Steve Jones, Dan Owen and Gavin Salmon rank among his football heroes, while the state-of-the-art training facilities are said to have played a huge part in his desire to move to the club.

Further rumours of an honoury position at the club for both the Queen and Prince Phillip have been denied.