Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says he was always confident Cristiano Ronaldo would not suffer a backlash from fans. This despite Ronaldo looking like he might move to Real Madrid in the summer.

"The fans know he's been here for five years, he's shown his loyalty to the club - he's hardly missed a game in all that time - and he's scored all these goals," said Ferguson.

"He's entertained us to incredible levels and the fans don't forget these kind of things. They supported him after the World Cup thing with Wayne Rooney and I knew they would support him again this time."