Manchester United are expected to lodge an official complaint about Real Madrid with Fifa next week over the Spanish champions’ brazen courting of Cristiano Ronaldo. United threatened to report Real to the sport’s world governing body ten days ago unless they abandoned what the Barclays Premier League club described as their “totally unacceptable” pursuit of the Portugal forward.

Although most of the subsequent remarks concerning a possible transfer to the Bernabéu have emanated from Ronaldo, the player’s claims this week that he “would like to play” for Real prompted Ramón Calderón, the Spanish club’s president, to say yesterday that it was an honour to hear the 23-year-old speak about his desire to move to Madrid.

“For Madrid, it is an honour to know that a player like him thinks that playing at Real Madrid would be good,” Calderón said. “We are proud to know that he would like to be with us.”

Calderón’s latest comments have been greeted with dismay at Old Trafford and, having finally lost patience with Real after giving them every chance to stop their talking, United are ready to refer the matter to Fifa, according to senior sources at the club.

United are hoping that Fifa will take a dim view of what the club believe has been a concerted public campaign by Real to unsettle Ronaldo and impose heavy sanctions on the club, even if, privately, the English and European champions are believed to have reservations about the governing body’s resolve when dealing with such matters.

There is thought to be little appetite within the corridors of power at Fifa to make an example of Real and the most severe penalty is likely to be little more than a slap on the wrists, a belief echoed yesterday by Mel Goldberg, the sports lawyer.

Goldberg believes that United have a strong case, but even if Real were found guilty of breaking rules regarding players contracted to other clubs, he thinks that any punishment would be minimal. “If Real Madrid are reported to Fifa, they will probably get a rap on the knuckles,” Goldberg said. “I don’t know whether they would be expelled from, for example, the European Cup or whether they would be deducted points in the league.

“What Fifa would probably say is that you cannot keep a player against his will if he is not happy and wants to go elsewhere. They would give some minor castigation and the deal would go through. I am sure there have been cases of this nature, but I can’t remember Fifa taking on a major club and hammering them.”

United players past and present have been queueing up this week to state their belief that Ronaldo, who has four years remaining on his £120,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford, would be making a mistake if he left the club and yesterday was the turn of Bryan Robson.

The former United and England captain, who took up an ambassadorial role at the club in March, claimed that he was offered lucrative contracts from foreign clubs to leave Old Trafford, but has warned Ronaldo that money should not be the motivating factor behind his decision.

“Juventus and Sampdoria offered me a lot more money, but I was happy at United,” Robson said. “Once they [United] told me they wanted me to stay, that was all I needed to hear. If Ronaldo weighs everything up, then why move if he is happy where he is? Money is not everything.

“He is on a massive contract, so I do not see any reason to move to Real. How did they do in the Champions League last year?”

Talk of Real having offered Ronaldo £300,000 a week after tax to move to Spain is thought to be far-fetched, but while the Portugal player has indicated that he will not speak about his future again until after the European Championship finals this month, the player’s mother claimed yesterday that her son would be staying in England, for the time being at least.

“He is fine where he is,” Dolores Aveiro said. “The future? Only God knows, but what is sure is that he is going to continue in England.”