Cristiano Ronaldo has raised alarm bells at Manchester United by declaring that he hopes to make an announcement on his future within “two or three days”. Sir Alex Ferguson, indeed no one at Old Trafford, knows what kind of statement Ronaldo has in mind, raising fears that he is about to start pushing for a purported “dream” transfer to Real Madrid.

Ronaldo’s godfather, Fernao Sousa, hinted as much last week when he claimed that the Portugal forward “has decided he will go to Real Madrid but will not say until the European Championship is over”, a statement that went down like a lead balloon at Old Trafford.

Ferguson said yesterday that he and the Glazer family, the club’s owners, would rather “sit a player in the stands . . . just to prove a point” than sell him to Real, but, while United’s resolve is stronger than ever, there is growing unease over precisely what Ronaldo, now in Switzerland with the Portugal squad, may be planning to say.

Speaking after Portugal’s 2-0 win over Georgia in a friendly match on Saturday, Ronaldo was asked whether he would soon be in a position to clarify his future. He said: “I hope so, yes.” When he was asked when that might be, he replied: “Shortly, in the next two or three days, I hope.” The answers look innocuous, but they are in keeping with a mysterious time-table to which Ronaldo alluded after United’s Champions League triumph in Moscow on May 21, saying that he would make an announcement on his future in two weeks. This would be encouraging if Ronaldo was in discussions over a new contract, but no such negotiations are planned, given that he signed a new five-year, £120,000-a-week deal in April 2007. United hope that he will announce he is staying at Old Trafford, but they have had no such assurances, even though Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz, his assistant, have tried to warn him of the perils of moving to Spain.

David Gill, the United chief executive, has stated Ronaldo is not for sale, even for a world-record fee far in excess of £50 million. Better news for United’s supporters is that the club could be ready to approach Lyons with a bid to sign Karim Benzema, the France forward, who was thought to be off limits, but by far the most pressing issue at Old Trafford is securing the future of Ronaldo.