The Times:
Manchester United issued a strongly worded statement yesterday in which Cristiano Ronaldo was told that he must honour the two-year contract extension that he signed last autumn, but the Portugal winger is as determined as ever to join Real Madrid, a move he has been planning for the past three months.
Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned that Ronaldo is being driven away from Old Trafford by a media campaign stemming from the player's role in Wayne Rooney's sending-off when England met Portugal in the World Cup quarter-final, but it has now emerged that the 21-year-old informed his agent, Jorge Mendes, that he planned to leave, either for Madrid or Barcelona, before the end of the last Barclays Premiership campaign.
United hoped that their statement yesterday morning would end the debate over Ronaldo's future. "Manchester United has noted the increasing media speculation over the future of Cristiano Ronaldo," it read. "The club can confirm there is no possibility of Cristiano being sold. Cristiano recently signed a new contract until 2010 and the club fully expects him to honour that contract. The club will not listen to any offers for Cristiano. He is one of the brightest young stars in world football, as demonstrated by his performances at the World Cup, and Manchester United is not in the business of selling their best young players."
However, that robust statement was in stark contrast to the ambivalent nature of Ronaldo's latest comments to the Portuguese media during a holiday in Madeira. "There are possibilities for me to continue at Manchester United but there are other possibilities as well," he said. "Everything is open. If I have to leave Manchester United I don't want to leave on bad terms because it is a club that has contributed to my evolution as a human being and as a professional. They have always supported me. They always gave me guarantees of being able to evolve as a player.
"It is an issue that has to be discussed in the next few days. For the time being I want to distance myself from football. The most important thing is to rest. There is still nothing concrete. During this week I believe the issue will be resolved. If it's a question of staying there, it will be fine. If I leave, it will also be fine. It is still a question that has to be decided, I have four days to resolve it."
The Indie:
Cristiano Ronaldo's dressing-room date with Wayne Rooney appeared to be back on yesterday after Manchester United declared there was "no possibility" of him leaving the club and he indicated a willingness to return and face down his detractors.
The 21-year-old, for whom a return to training with Rooney at Carrington on July 31 is an unenviable prospect, has twice said he wants to leave for Real Madrid or Barcelona.
But in an uncompromising statement aimed at quelling rumours of a £20m move, the club said it expected him to honour the contract he has just signed which would keep him at Old Trafford until 2010. "The club will not listen to any offers for Cristiano," United declared.
The player, who is holidaying in Madeira, changed his stance yesterday. "I have no reasons to leave the club which has always supported me and has always helped me to evolve as a player," he told a news agency on the island.
"There are no final decisions yet. Things will be worked out next week. I want to do this the right way. If I end up staying, that's fine. If I leave, that's fine too."
Ronaldo also told Portugeuse media that he did not want to part company with a club which had "contributed to my evolution as a player and a human being". He said: "There is still nothing concrete. I have four days to resolve [this])."