Alex Ferguson raps Real Madrid over lack of morals

Sir Alex Ferguson has launched a stinging attack on Real Madrid, accusing the La Liga champions of "lacking morals" following the Spanish club's latest comments about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Manchester United manager is furious at the statements made by Real coach Bernd Schuster and president Ramon Calderon in the last 24 hours that questioned Ronaldo's future at Old Trafford.

Speculation surrounding the Portuguese winger has intensified despite United's thrilling Champions League final victory over Chelsea.

But Ferguson said: "You get used to Real Madrid's performance in these things. I read last night that Calderon's talking, Schuster's talking, and they use this market as a vehicle to unsettle players. The simple facts are that he is with us and has four years left on his contract and that's the first thing. And Calderon makes that great statement 'slavery was abolished many, many years ago'. Did he tell Franco that? Give me a break.

"In terms of great clubs, Barcelona have far better moral issues than Real Madrid will ever have. We know Real are not the only club with an interest in Ronaldo but they are not saying so.

"Do you not think we've not had many interests from the big clubs in Europe about our best players? Of course. But they don't get into the nonsense that they get into. They think that they can ride roughshod over everyone but they won't do it with us."