Confusion reigns in Ronaldo saga

The debate over the future of Manchester United's star striker Cristiano Ronaldo headed ever further towards farce this week as reports emerged that the Portuguese international had finally decided to move to Real Madrid.

Portuguese newspapers reported Ronaldo as saying “Next week I will return to England and tell them my only desire is to play for Real and I will not negotiate.” However the player's agents then contradicted this statement and said that Ronaldo was likely to see out the remainder of his contract with Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson was then reported as saying that he'd leave Manchester United if the young star signed for Real Madrid. Ferguson's comments came just days after Real Madrid's boss Ramon Calderon had threatened not to sign a new striker to the club if Ronaldo remained at Old Trafford.

To add to the confusion, reports have also suggested that Real Madrid have signed Rafael van der Vaart from Hamburg, and that the new striker is set to be unveiled next week. Meanwhile Madrid's coach, Bernd Schuster, claims to have no knowledge of who will be playing for him in coming weeks.