Sir Alex Ferguson has met with Cristiano Ronaldo and insists the Manchester United winger will not be sold to Real Madrid.

The Portugal international has been targeted by the Spanish giants throughout the summer, and had hinted that he was looking to secure a move away from Old Trafford.

But at a press conference in South Africa to mark the start of United's pre-season trip, Ferguson confirmed Ronaldo is going nowhere.

No sale
The Red Devils boss said: "The meeting went well - I think we both put across our points of view - where we stand and where the player stands.

"I can say he'll be a Manchester United player next season. That's our stance - he won't be sold."

Asked why he had not commented on the matter until now, Ferguson replied: "It's not a difficult position. I was on my holiday and I was not going to interrupt my holiday, believe me.

"I wasn't panicked because the player is under contract so the strength and the rights are with Manchester United.

"What we have done well is to say nothing. We've kept quiet on this matter and kept it private and what I said to Cristiano remains private. I did go and see him last week in Portugal and it was very amicable - there were no problems. That's where we are and we carry on."


No risks
Ronaldo is currently recovering from ankle surgery and Ferguson confirmed he is unlikely to be back in action until October.

He said: "He's had an operation and he'll be out for three months. He's on crutches for the first four weeks, he'll be in rehabilitation for the next four and then the following four he'll be back into football training. The time mapped out is three months and we won't bring him back a day earlier than that.

"I think when players have operations we have a responsibility that the player comes back 100 per cent and we'll carry that out as we normally do.

"There'll be no risk-taking - we never take risks. Our goal is to always make sure that the player gets back 100 per cent and that will be the same in the case of Cristiano Ronaldo."