Carlos Queiroz, the Manchester Utd assistant manager claims nobody knows how to show Cristiano Ronaldo “affection” and “attention” like Manchester does.

Truth is Manchester will have to do much better than this if they are to stand any chance of persuading him to stay. Yes, they have done it before, after the last World Cup but this time round Ronaldo himself seems determined to leave.

This may be the difference this time round. Not due back from holiday until 14th July, he is hoping a deal can be thrashed out and thus avoiding an uneasy face to face confrontation with manager Alex Ferguson.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Ronaldo will be announced as a Real Madrid player on July 7th 2008, which if true, leaves Ferguson without that golden opportunity to display the affection that Queiroz is talking about.