Queiroz, 55, left his post as assistant at Manchester United last week and showed that his focus is solely on taking Portugal to the very top.

When a reporter asked whether he had any inside information on Ronaldo during his first press conference as Portugal boss, he replied: "When I talk with people, I don't comment on it in public. It is not elegant and it is ugly.

"I speak with my friends and with people who like me," Setanta Sports quoted him as saying.

"As a national team coach and being attached to the Portuguese Football Federation, we must not interfere with relations that are professional between our players and clubs.

"We should not even have an opinion about that."