Cristiano Ronaldo last night contrived to overshadow Germany’s dramatic European Championship quarter-final victory over Portugal by confirming his wish to leave Manchester United this summer. Little more than half an hour after Portugal’s 3-2 defeat, Ronaldo called upon United to sell him to Real Madrid, while Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Portugal coach, caused further controversy by accusing Michael Ballack, a midfield player at his new club, Chelsea, of pushing Paulo Ferreira, his club team-mate, in the act of scoring the crucial goal.

Scolari’s record of two defeats in two matches since his appointment may be a source of minor embarrassment to Chelsea, but there will be much greater fallout from the looming battle over Ronaldo. The 23-year-old has repeatedly hinted at a desire to move to Spain, but last night’s statement was his boldest yet as he called on United to get the deal done.

Real are expected to table a £60 million offer in the next few days, although it will be fiercely resisted at Old Trafford, where Sir Alex Ferguson is standing by his determination to let the player sit in the stands rather than sell him to a leading European rival. “The possibilities are great, but, as I’ve always said, it doesn’t depend only on me,” Ronaldo said. “In the next few days, we will see if we can arrive at an agreement. I have many desires and in the next few days they will become clear.”

Ronaldo is going on a three-week holiday tomorrow and hopes to have the transfer completed in his absence, but this appears to be wishful thinking and he will probably be forced to report for pre-season training with United at the end of July.

United’s anger is such that they have already reported Real to Fifa, the world governing body, for making an illegal approach, although Ferguson’s belief that the player’s flirtations are the result of his desire for an improved contract is no longer credible. Ronaldo has told friends that he will “do whatever it takes” to push the transfer through, as The Times revealed this week, and a summer of discontent is in prospect.

Ronaldo’s outburst should not be allowed to take the focus away from an incredible match that Germany deserved to win, despite Scolari’s protestations. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose gave them a 2-0 lead in the space of four first-half minutes, but after Nuno Gomes had pulled one back it was Ballack’s intervention that proved to be decisive.

“I don’t want to say that Germany benefited, but all the football screens and TVs showed that Ballack pushed Paulo Ferreira for the third goal,” Scolari said. “I don’t know if Ballack’s goal that should have been disallowed changed the game, we may have lost 2-1. But when we’re pressing the opposition and we suffer a third goal, we have to start all over again. If it’s a foul, it has to be given by the referee.”

Germany’s reward for a stirring performance, in which they took Portugal on at their own free-flowing game, is a semi-final against Croatia or Turkey, although greater attention will be focused on the manner of their opponents’ exit.

Scolari insisted that the controversial decision to announce his move to Stamford Bridge last week had not been a factor, but others in Portugal are sure to disagree. “No, no, no, no,” Scolari said. “If I hadn’t announced I was going to Chelsea, we would still have lost the two games.

“We lost because we didn’t do things right or with more quality. It was nothing to do with Chelsea. Some people will write or imagine it was, but that’s not the case.”