Manchester United Stand Firm and Insist Ronaldo is Not for Sale

Manchester United have once again insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale after the player reiterated his desire to join Real Madrid in the wake of Portugal's defeat to Germany in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008. Ronaldo, who plans to undergo surgery on a "small problem" with his right foot, stated last night that there was a "great" chance that he would join Madrid this summer. But United were quick to respond this morning, releasing a statement on their website which said: "United are not listening to offers".

"Ronaldo has continually been linked with a move to Spanish side Real Madrid this summer," it continued. "But the club reaffirmed to ManUtd.com on Friday morning that the 23-year-old United star is 'not for sale'."

The United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already said that he would rather leave Ronaldo, who has four years remaining on his contract, to rot in the reserves than allow him to move from the club. His resolve, as well as that of the Glazer family – the club's owners, may yet be broken by a suitably large offer from Madrid, but Ronaldo acknowledged yesterday that matters were now out of his hands.

"The possibilities of me going to Madrid are great but as you've all seen it doesn't depend on me," he said. "In the next few days, we will see if we can arrive at an agreement. I have many desires and in the next days, they will become clear."

Ronaldo, who has failed to make the impact many had predicted on this year's tournament, went on to reveal he has been playing with a foot injury for three months. "I'm going to have an operation now," he said. "I have had a small problem for about three months, in my foot. I'll have the operation and then have a good recovery period."