Sir Alex Ferguson has put the frighteners on Real Madrid by threatening to use FIFA as a big stick to beat the Spaniards.

United are so sick of Real's "tapping-up" of Cristiano Ronaldo, they warned that world football's governing body would be alerted. That threat appears to have had the desired effect as Real president Ramon Calderon was forced into a humiliating climbdown, saying his club had no desire to encourage Ronaldo to leave.

Calderon was advised by fellow high-ranking officials at Real to stop commenting about Ronaldo for fear of a FIFA rap. "We have not interfered with United's contract agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo," said Calderon.

"I want to clear this up and assure them we are not going to influence any player to break a contract.

"We're not going to start a conflict. If a club does not want to sell a player, then why would we insist that they do sell him?"

Despite Calderon's claim that Real will only make an offer for Ronaldo if the player wants to join them, United know the Spaniards are doing all they can behind the scenes to make the move happen.

With Ronaldo having stated his desire to one day play in Spain, the steady drip of flattering comments towards him from Madrid are designed to turn the player's head sooner rather than later.