"Real Madrid has sent a letter to Manchester United denying any type of interest in the services of the defender Rio Ferdinand, or any other footballer of the English team," read a statement from Madrid.
"In the last few days, in certain media sources, specially British, there has been speculation about a supposed interest by the club in recruiting this player. For this reason, Real Madrid have been in contact with Manchester United to reassure them that they have absolutely no interest in Rio Ferdinand or any other member of the team trained by Alex Ferguson."