Calderón Denies Attempting to Unsettle Ronaldo

The Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón has insisted that his club have nothing to fear from any Fifa investigation into their pursuit of the Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

United filed a formal complaint to Fifa yesterday, accusing Madrid officials of attempting to unsettle Ronaldo by repeatedly stating how much they would like to sign him. But Calderón played down both their complaint and his club's interest in the player this morning, telling journalists that: "[United] don't have any evidence, because nothing has happened".

"All there is is what the papers say and rumors that the player seems to want to leave," said Calderón. "But at the moment a move is impossible because United don't want to sell him. It's United's right [to complain] but we haven't done anything and we are not going to do anything. It's a matter between the player and his club."

Fifa confirmed receiving the complaint from United, but a spokesman said yesterday that it was "too early" to comment on any potential sanctions against Madrid. Under Fifa regulations, one club has to inform another if they are to start negotiations with one of their players, although they do not stipulate any specific punishment.

Madrid's manager, Bernd Schuster said he wasn't worried about the speculation. "This Cristiano matter does not worry me nor am I obsessed by it," he told Spanish newspaper Marca. "While he doesn't play for Madrid all we can do is hope, although it's clear that he would be a great signing and would adapt well to our squad."