RONALDO SALUTE TO FERGUSON

Cristiano Ronaldo wants to return to Manchester before his Real Madrid debut to say a personal farewell to Sir Alex Ferguson. The World Footballer of the Year, sold by Manchester United to Madrid for a record £80m last month, will be unveiled tomorrow at the Bernabeu stadium in front of an expected 80,000 fans. ‘Monday will be a great day for me,’ said Ronaldo, ‘but I am planning to go to Manchester and say goodbye to Ferguson. He has been like a father to me. I have to thank him for all he has taught me – how to think things through and take decisions in my life. He has been one of the most important factors and influences in my career. He will always have a special place in my heart. I also have special memories of David Gill and all the other directors at United.’ Ronaldo will learn tomorrow which shirt number he will wear at Madrid. With his favoured No 7 already worn by Real captain Raul, he risked reigniting the fiery relationship he had at United with Ruud Van Nistelrooy by saying he would like the No 17 – the Dutch striker’s number at Madrid. Real have supplied Ronaldo with bodyguards but he insists they are a temporary measure.

MILAN TARGET HUNTELAAR

AC Milan have set their sights on Real Madrid striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Sevilla’s Brazil forward Luis Fabiano. Adriano Galliani, the Milan chief executive who sold Kaka to Madrid for £56m, sees Huntelaar as the perfect signing to placate his club’s unhappy fans. Real need to trim their squad after splashing out about £166m on Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema so far this summer. Huntelaar would cost around the £20m mark Real spent to bring him from Ajax in January, with Fabiano in the same price range. Real are also looking to unload Holland stars Ruud Van Nistelrooy (asking price £8m), Wesley Sneijder (£12m-£15m), Arjen Robben (£18m) and Rafael Van der Vaart (£13m).

TEVEZ TO CONFIRM CITY SWITCH

Manchester City are confident that tomorrow they will seal the £25m signing of Carlos Tevez, fresh from collecting his second Premier League winner’s medal with neighbours United, to take manager Mark Hughes’ spending to £200m since he became manager in June last year. The 25-year-old Argentina international forward will agree a four-year contract worth £120,000 a week. City are still hopeful of tempting Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o and want to bolster their defence by bringing in Everton’s Joleon Lescott or Kolo Toure from Arsenal, having had a £30m offer for England captain John Terry rebuffed by Chelsea.

UNITED SNAP UP ITALIAN TEENAGER

Manchester United’s talent search continues to be more modest. Alberto Massacci, a 16-year-old right-back with Serie B side Empoli, will today sign for the Premier League champions after impressing during an international youth event last year. ‘When they called me, I really couldn't believe it,’ Massacci told Gazzetta dello Sport. ‘In life a chance like this only comes past you once, and you’ve got to grab it.’

JORDI’S MALTESE CHALLENGE

Jordi Cruyff, the former Barcelona and Manchester United winger, has taken a further step along the hard road of living up to his famous surname. Cruyff, inset, has gone into coaching, something his famous father Johan did well enough to win the European Cup with Barcelona. Jordi has joined Valetta FC, of the Malta league, as player-assistant coach.

FIORENTINA OFFER MELO-EBOUE SWAP

Fiorentina have encouraged Arsenal to make a fresh approach for Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo by offering to consider a part-exchange deal. After denying reports in the Italian press that they had already sold the player to Juventus, Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino said on the club’s website yesterday: ‘In case the player has already reached an agreement with any club, the release clause fixed with the player himself is ¤25m (£21.5m). We would not contemplate any exchange, unless it is to the liking of Fiorentina. Arsenal is the only club to have come close. Fiorentina in turn proposed a reduction in the amount set by the release clause by including right-back Eboue in the deal.’

MANCINI SEEKS ENGLISH JOB

Roberto Mancini, the Inter Milan coach sacked after winning his third successive Serie A title at the end of the 2007-08 season, says he wants to make his comeback in the Premier League. After a year out of work, the 44-year-old has been linked with Sunderland, Chelsea, West Ham, Portsmouth and Manchester City in the past 12 months. Mancini says: ‘My aim is to have an experience abroad, in what league I don’t know, maybe the English one, because I think it is a league where everybody enjoys themselves.’