Sir Alex Ferguson returns to work at Manchester United this morning after his holiday, convinced that he will triumph in the forthcoming battle of wills with Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugal winger is determined to engineer a move to Real Madrid, but Ferguson is vehemently opposed to selling and will spend this week examining ways to strengthen his squad.

The two men are not believed to have spoken since Ronaldo left Manchester to join the Portugal squad in late May, with the player doing nothing to dispel rumours of growing tension between him and his club manager. But while Ferguson has been disappointed by some of Ronaldo’s comments, he does not want to sell the player and is convinced that Ronaldo will drop the issue when he learns of the extent of United’s opposition to the sale.

United have been encouraged that, despite frequent references to Ronaldo’s “dream” of joining Real, he has not demanded a move and that the statement he planned to make more than a week ago, in which he intended to plead with United to let him move to Spain, has not materialised. Members of the Old Trafford hierarchy have described the situation as a “seven-day wonder”, suggesting that it will have blown over by the time Ronaldo returns for preseason training next month, but sources close to the player maintain that he is as committed as ever to moving to Real and that he will tell Ferguson so when they come face to face.

Real are waiting for Ronaldo to make the next move, by formally declaring his intentions, before they try to negotiate a deal with David Gill, the United chief executive. Gill, like Ferguson, is opposed to a deal, having filed a complaint to Fifa, world football’s governing body, about Real’s efforts to unsettle the player.

The greater priority for Ferguson this week, apart from the start of preseason training on Wednesday for those players who were not involved in the European Championship finals, is to strengthen his squad. He is eager to sign a new centre forward, such as Dimitar Berbatov, of Tottenham Hotspur, or Roque Santa Cruz, of Blackburn Rovers, and at least one new defender after the sale of Gerard Piqué to Barcelona and the likely departure of Mikaël Silvestre to AS Roma. Louis Saha is also in talks with Roma, with Ferguson having tired of the France forward’s injury problems.

Another concern for Ferguson is the future of Carlos Queiroz, his assistant manager, whom the Portuguese football federation regard as a prime candidate to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari as Portugal coach. Queiroz, regarded by some as Ferguson’s logical successor when the Scot retires in the next couple of years, would be a huge loss to United, particularly with regard to his influence over Ronaldo.