Forget about signing Ronaldo for now, Jose Mourinho tells Manchester United

Jose Mourinho believes Real Madrid will block any attempt by Manchester United to take Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford.

Mourinho, who managed Ronaldo for three years at Madrid, said he believed the Spanish club were not under financial pressure to sell their most valuable player.

The possibility of re-signing Ronaldo, who has two years left on his existing deal, has been explored by United and the player himself made it clear last month that discussions over a new contract had not moved on.

In Kuala Lumpur with his Chelsea team, who beat a Malaysian select XI 4-1 yesterday, Mourinho said that he believed the player would stay at Real Madrid for at least another season. Asked about the specifics of a deal with United, Mourinho said he had “no idea” but when it came to the wider question of Ronaldo leaving Madrid, the Chelsea manager was clear.

He said: “What I know is that Real Madrid are such a rich club they don’t need to sell and are such a rich club I think they can beat any offer a club can have on Ronaldo. I know Ronaldo loves Man United and I know he loves the Premier League but I think he is going to stay. It’s just a feeling, no contact, nothing just a feeling.”

Ronaldo scored two goals at Dean Court yesterday as the Spanish side won 6-0 in a friendly against Bournemouth. After the match, Carlo Ancelotti, the new Madrid manager, said that he believed Ronaldo would stay at the club this season. He said: “I think Ronaldo is the most important player in this team because he is the player with the best quality.

“I think we will help him every time to do his best because if he does that every time we have a great opportunity for this season. His future is at Real Madrid, there is no question about this.”

The Chelsea medical staff will be checking on the state of Kevin De Bruyne’s injury this morning after the Belgium international, impressive in his first two appearances in the club’s tour of Asia, was carried off after 36 minutes in Kuala Lumpur. The 22-year-old has drawn high praise from Mourinho and looks set to be a key figure this season, having signed in January last year before spending last season on loan at Werder Bremen.

De Bruyne tweeted this morning that his knee and ankle were “feeling ok for the moment”. He added: “Always stay positive. Waiting for tomorrow. Then we will know more.”

Mourinho said after the game that De Bruyne’s ankle injury did not appear to be serious, although he is unlikely to play in Friday’s final Asia tour game in Jakarta. On Sunday, Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, David Luiz, Oscar, Cesar Azpilicueta and John Obi Mikel will join up with the squad and on the following Wednesday Chelsea will fly to the United States for the final part of their pre-season. Their absence has been referred to on a number of occasions by Mourinho, who is eager to have the whole squad working together.

He said: “We have to use the whole pre-season to work on tactical principles and also fitness, as well as the mentality and the group personality, group identity we want for the team. That we will do during the whole pre-season. At this moment, we don’t have six important players. We’ll have those in the United States from the beginning.

“They go there ready to compete and to fly, as we used to say. These six players, involved in the Confederations Cup, will be in the state these guys [current squad] are now when we get to the States. But it’ll all be good for our preparations.”

Mourinho’s team won easily in Kuala Lumpur, their second victory on tour. Mourinho said: “At this moment we’re not worried about the results but also worried about the results because winning is part of a team’s DNA and players’ DNA, and the desire to respect your club and your fans is part of our DNA.

“If you can win matches, you win matches. We’ve won these two and we’ll try to win again in Jakarta and go home with just a good feeling.”

Adptred from: London's Evening Standard