El of a cheek! Fuming Fergie blasts Real bullies over Ronaldo and warns United must win more Euro Cups or he'll go

The United boss also launched an astonishing attack on Ronaldo's prime suitors, Real Madrid, accusing them of being morally bankrupt and he even included a controversial reference to former Spanish dictator Franco when condemning them.

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Sir Alex Ferguson and Cristiano Ronaldo share a tender moment.

But he acknowledged that Ronaldo will quit if United cannot complete their transition from European bridesmaids to consistent winners.

"He's 23 years of age and when he gets to 25, 26, he will have a big decision to make," said the Old Trafford boss. "That will be the biggest task when he gets to that age, that will be our biggest task.

"How big we are then, in terms of European Cups. 'That will resonate with him and will be very, very important to this club. That's why I make the point of winning European trophies, we've got to do better."

United have sold players to Real Madrid in the past, with David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy succumbing to advances from the Spanish giants.

Ferguson said: "Madrid think they can ride roughshod over everyone and they won't do it with us. We sold them Van Nistelrooy and Beckham because we wanted to. But you get used to Madrid's performances on these things.

"I read on teletext that Madrid president Ramon Calderon is talking and the coach, (Bernd) Schuster's talking. These things are designed to unsettle players.

"The simple fact of the matter is he (Ronaldo) has got another four years left on his contract and Calderon makes the great statement, 'slavery was abolished many, many years ago'. 'Did they tell Franco that? Jesus Christ. Eh, give me a break!"

His reference to Franco is sure to cause a storm in Spain but the United boss continued unabashed: "It doesn't matter which player it is, the ones you want to keep, you have to work hard to keep.

"In the modern day that is a fact. It's not lost on United and it's not lost on Real Madrid, either. But great clubs like Barcelona have far better moral issues than Real Madrid will ever have.

"Barca know Real are not the only club who would be interested in Ronaldo, but they are not saying so. Do you not think we have had much interest from the big clubs in Europe about our best players? Of course.

"But they don't get into the nonsense that they (Real) get into. They have no moral issues at all. I'm not going to be moving anyone out in the summer, they'll all stay I hope."

Despite reports, Ronaldo is not on the verge of signing a new United contract. The Portuguese has a £120,000-aweek deal in place until 2012 and United are refusing requests for contract talks.

Ronaldo continues to frustrate the club with contradictory statements but Ferguson is adamant that he will not yet be sold. "I've heard different things," he said.

"I've heard him say he's at the best club and he's happy here, so it depends on who he's talking to. Maybe he tells the English press one thing and says another thing to others (in Spain)."