Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson refused to enter a war of words with FIFA president Sepp Blatter over his "slavery" claims for Cristiano Ronaldo.

"It was an unfortunate statement from someone in such a position as Sepp Blatter," Ferguson told a pre-match press conference. "Slavery was abolished many years ago.

"These days footballers can earn five or six million pounds a year. I do not want to dignify this kind of statement with a response but when you consider the history of slavery, it was a very unfortunate statement."