Ramón Calderón, the Real Madrid president, has again invited the wrath of Manchester United by urging Cristiano Ronaldo not to weaken his resolve in the face of Sir Alex Ferguson’s fierce opposition to the forward’s proposed transfer to Spain.

Ronaldo is expected to issue a statement today or tomorrow to confirm his intention to move to Madrid and to plead with United to allow him to pursue his “dream” after five years’ loyal service, but Ferguson, who is on holiday in France, is unswerving in his stance that United will not sell and that the player’s dream will remain in the realms of fantasy.

Ferguson has so far avoided all temptation to speak directly to Ronaldo and maintains that he will not do so until he has returned to work next Monday or until the player makes the first move. To Real’s delight, the stand-off is adding to the tension between player and manager, with Ronaldo publicly urged by Calderón yesterday to remain strong.

“If the kid keeps himself in that strong position, the step he has taken [in expressing his wish to join Real] could be key,” Calderón said. “As we have already said many times, it is a problem between Manchester United and the player. If the two resolve the situation and Manchester United want to call us, then we will be happy and delighted with that because Cristiano is a great player. We can’t say anything more. We only talk about our own players – and Cristiano is Manchester United’s.”

The last statement would cause hilarity at Old Trafford were it not for the gravity of the situation. United have already made a formal complaint to Fifa, football’s governing body, about Real’s behaviour and their persistent and highly successful attempts to unsettle Ronaldo. Although United accept that there is no hard evidence of the illegal approach that they firmly suspect, they believe that repeated comments from Calderón, Bernd Schuster, the coach, and others at Real represent a concerted attempt to undermine the relationship between Ronaldo and his club, which is now close to breaking point.

Schuster was at it again yesterday, saying that Real should be prepared to pay whatever it takes – which is likely to mean a transfer fee in excess of £70 million and wages of £150,000 after tax – to sign Ronaldo. “For a player of this level, we must pay what is necessary,” Schuster said. “For us, what is most important is to win the Champions League and he can help us achieve that. But we understand that, when a club has a player of such quality, they don’t want to let him go.”

Ferguson’s mood will not be helped by renewed uncertainty over the future of his assistant, Carlos Queiroz, who is a contender to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari as coach of the Portugal national team. There are other candidates, including José Pekerman, the former Argentina coach, and Zico, who recently left Fenerbahçe, but Queiroz, who would be happy to stay at Old Trafford if he were given assurances that he is in pole position to be United’s next manager when Ferguson retires, appears pleased to be associated with the Portugal vacancy. “It gives me great pleasure that my name is linked,” Queiroz said when approached by a Portuguese newspaper. “Have I been asked? I will make no comment.”

There has been little good news for United since they lifted the European Cup in Moscow on May 21 – a match that Ronaldo is adamant will be his last for the club – but, contrary to reports yesterday, they are expected to secure the long-term future of Carlos Tévez. The Argentina forward is said to be concerned that talks have not started over an extension to his loan arrangement, which runs until next summer, but United officials say that this will be addressed soon.