Manchester United have cooled reports of upgrading Cristiano Ronaldo's contract.

Although reports claimed yesterday that United were preparing to give the Portugal forward a new deal that would make him the highest-paid player in the Barclays Premier League in an effort to prevent him joining Real Madrid, sources close to David Gill, the club's chief executive, indicated that such a prospect was not on the agenda.

"There are no plans to offer Cristiano a new contract next summer," one source told The Times.