Cristiano Ronaldo in Moscow on Tuesday

Moscow: Manchester United has dismissed a report that Cristiano Ronaldo favours a move to Real Madrid next season and expects him to stay at Old Trafford.

A Spanish sports daily said on Wednesday that Ronaldo had “very recently” expressed his wish to join the club, obliging United to hold transfer negotiations with Madrid.

But United chief executive David Gill said he had no reason to fear the departure of the Portugal winger, who has scored 41 league and cup goals this season.

“Unequivocally yes, Cristiano will be with us next season,” Gill told a sports television channel. “He’s got a long-term contract, why would he leave one of the best clubs in Europe? We see no reason for him to leave and I’m sure he does not either.”

The paper cited “authorised club sources”.

It added that Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, held talks with Madrid’s sports director Predrag Mijatovic in Moscow ahead of United’s Champions League final with Chelsea.

Showing a photo of the smiling player, the paper carried the front-page headline: “Cristiano says ‘Yes, I do’.”

In a reference to United’s desire to keep its star player, it added: “But Manchester replies ‘No, I don’t’.”

Gill said the club had no plans to talk to Ronaldo about the speculation.

“He doesn’t need to reassure us at all. (United coach) Sir Alex (Ferguson) would be the person to speak to him but I don’t think that’s necessary. I just see Cristiano’s attitude around the players... I think there is absolutely no necessity whatsoever to speak to him.

“He’s on a long-term contract at one of the best, if not the best, clubs in the world. So why would he leave?”

Speculation about Ronaldo’s future was heightened last week when he appeared to suggest to a Spanish TV channel last week he could depart United once the season is over.

However, Ferguson, asked in Moscow on Tuesday about the chance of Ronaldo leaving, sounded confident about keeping the Portugal captain.

“If you want to have a bet on it, I’ll put a big bet on with you,” Ferguson said at a news conference ahead of the final.

While Ronaldo is under contract until 2012, Madrid president Ramon Calderon has repeatedly stated his interest in signing the 23-year-old player over recent months.

The Spanish champion would almost certainly need to break the world’s transfer record to sign Ronaldo. The current record was set in 2001 when Madrid signed Zinedine Zidane from Juventus for $65 million (now euro41.3 million).

Ronaldo, who joined United from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, helped the Red Devils win the Premier League for the second straight season and reach their third final in Europe’s top club competition.