Gabriel Heinze was happy to take a dig at Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson as he prepares to welcome Cristiano Ronaldo as a new Real Madrid teammate.

The former United defender said: "There was a time when Ferguson got annoyed because I talked about the possibility of Cristiano coming to Real.

"But he can't ban me from speaking about it as I'm not a Manchester United player now.

"I'm a very good friend of Cristiano Ronaldo and he is a clever person who knows what is best for his own life.

"He has wanted to come to Real Madrid for a long time. It was his dream.

"If he decided to do it now it's because now is the best time. Not sooner, not later."