Ronaldo silent on future

Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday insisted he would not address whether his future lies away from Manchester United before the end of Euro 2008 as he prepares for Thursday's quarter-final against Germany.

“I don't want to talk about my future,” said the 23-year-old who has yet to commit himself to the club with which he won the Premiership and Champions League this season amid persistent rumours he wants to join Real Madrid.

Reporters bombarded the star with questions at the Portuguese camp at Neuchatel at a press conference but to no avail.

“I have already said several times that I would not discuss my club future during the Euro,” he insisted.

“At the moment I am only concentrating on the match against Germany,” he added.

And when an English reporter persisted by asking if he could not reassure United supporters, Ronaldo said pithily: “I think my English is not so bad: I just said I wouldn't speak about my future.”

Another journalist tried a different, culinary tack, wondering if Ronaldo preferred “paella or chips?”

The player's response was “bacalhau”, a staple cod-based dish in Portugal.

Although Ronaldo is under contract with United for another four years the Spanish media insist Real will break the bank and pay more than 80 million euros to land him.

He has intimated he would like to sign for the Spanish champions if they meet his wage demands, but United are determined to keep the Portugal winger.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson claimed earlier this month that he would let Ronaldo rot in the reserves rather than be bullied into selling him.

But Real coach Bernd Schuster says that the forward, who scored 42 goals last season and was named Player of the Year by both the Professional Footballers' Association and the Football Writers' Association, was his club's number one summer transfer target.