Man United could find themselves facing Cristiano Ronaldo when the draw is made for the Champion League group stages on Thursday.

United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are all guaranteed positions among the eight top seeds, meaning they will avoid current European champions Barcelona, but could face Real Madrid, who are one of the eight second-ranked clubs.

There is also another intriguing possibility of Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea coming face to face with Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan in a group - Inter will also be among the second seeds.

The draw will see 32 teams split into eight groups, each containing a top seed, a second seed, a third seed and a fourth seed.

Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Sevilla are other top seeds, and there are plenty of tough opponents in the other pots. Lyon, CSKA Moscow and Juventus are among the second seeds, while Atletico Madrid, Bordeaux and Stuttgart are in the third pot.

Rangers are also among the second seeds thanks to Fiorentina’s away-goals triumph over Sporting Lisbon tonight. If the result had been reversed, the Scottish champions would be third seeds.

The team to avoid among the eight clubs in the fourth pot are Wolfsburg, who were champions of Germany last season.

Such is the strength in depth of Europe’s elite club tournament that there is a possibility of any of the English clubs being drawn in a group with Real Madrid, Bordeaux and Wolfsburg.

Big-spending Real Madrid are the bookies’ favourites and will view this year’s tournament as almost a must-win. Apart from the arrival of Ronaldo, Kaka and Xavi Alonso, the final in May will be at their home ground the Bernabeu.

As for last season’s beaten finalists Manchester United, their striker Dimitar Berbatov insists most clubs will fear being drawn against the English champions.

He told the club’s official website: “When you say the name Manchester United it inspires respect in a lot of people. Nobody will fancy playing us.”

Berbatov said the taste of defeat in Rome has intensified the players’ desire to go one better this time.

“After what happened in last year’s final I think we’re even more determined in Europe this time around,” he added.

“For me, losing in Rome was doubly frustrating because I wasn’t at the club when the team won in Moscow. I’ve never won the Champions League so losing to Barcelona was very upsetting.

“This year our aim is to make it all the way to Madrid. The Bernabeu is one of the best stadiums in the world and I know we’re good enough to make it back there and, this time, win it.”

Seedings for Thursday’s draw:

Top seeds: Barcelona (Spa) UEFA co-efficient 121.9, Chelsea (Eng) 118.9, Liverpool (Eng) 118.9, Man Utd (Eng) 111.9, AC Milan (Ita) 110.6, Arsenal (Eng) 106.9, Sevilla (Spa) 100.9, Bayern Munich (Ger) 98.3.

Second seeds: Lyon (Fra) 91.0, Inter Milan (Ita) 87.6, Real Madrid (Spa) 78.9, CSKA Moscow (Rus) 71.5, Porto (Por) 68.3, AZ Alkmaar (Hol) 64.8, Juventus (Ita) 63.5, Rangers (Sco) 56.6.

Third seeds: Olympiakos (Gre) 52.6, Marseille (Fra) 48.0, Dinamo Kiev (Ukr) 46.4, Stuttgart (Ger) 45.3, Fiorentina (Ita) 42.6, Atletico Madrid (Spa) 41.9, Bordeaux (Fra) 40.0, Besiktas (Tur) 32.4.

Fourth seeds: Wolfsburg (Ger) 21.3, Standard Liege (Bel) 21.1, Maccabi Haifa (Isr) 17.1, FC Zurich (Swi) 14.1, Rubin Kazan (Rus) 9.5, Unirea Urziceni (Rom) 8.8, APOEL Nicosia (Cyp) 4.0, Debreceni (Hun) 1.633.

Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted he made up his mind to leave Manchester United last summer.

The Portugal winger looks set to seal an £80million move to Real Madrid after United accepted a world record bid from the Spanish giants.

Madrid conducted a long and public pursuit of Ronaldo last year but it proved ultimately unsuccessful as the 24-year-old remained at Old Trafford.

But despite staying in the Barclays Premier League, and helping United retain their title, Ronaldo claims he made up his mind to leave after the Champions League triumph over Chelsea a year ago.

“After we won the European Cup. I thought there is no more I can achieve here,” the Portuguese told the News of the World.

“And when you have done all you can, you know it is time for a new challenge. I stayed one more season and it was nice to make it three titles in a row but it was my dream to play for Madrid.”

The fact Madrid have not won the Champions League since 2002 - and are currently comfortably only the second best team in Spain behind Barcelona - has led some critics to claim Ronaldo is more interested in money than medals.

But Ronaldo insisted: “Of course, I have not gone for the money.

“To go down as the greatest. It will take lots of work but that is my target. If you go down as the greatest at Madrid it means you are one of the greatest of all time.”

The winger also apologised for his infamous wink which followed Wayne Rooney’s sending off in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final between Portugal and England.

“Sometimes you do things because emotions are running high but Wayne is my good friend,” Ronaldo said.

“I can’t regret it because I think the whole experience made me stronger.

“But looking back it was not the right thing to do and not something I would do any more.”

Cristiano Ronaldo does not care if people hate him. In fact, he loves seeing the hate in their eyes!

The soon-to-be Real Madrid man is not bothered by the constant jeering that he gets from rival fans.

In an interview with French magazine, So Foot, the winger said: “I love it when people jeer me. I love to see the hate in their eyes, to hear the insults,

“It doesn’t bother me. It’s true lots of people hate me but there are even more who love me and who support me. I feel bad only when I play badly. Fortunately, that happens rarely.”

Ronaldo continued to boast of his own billboard ratings when he exclaimed, I still have a long way to go. I really want to re-write the history of football,

“I am aware I’m already among the best of the best but I want to continue to write many more beautiful pages.”

And to sum it all up, the Portuguese flyer went on to self-proclaim, “I have nothing to envy Lionel for. I don’t compare myself to others,

“I am Cristiano Ronaldo - and I can win more medals than anybody else. I don’t like to relax. The fans want to see a great Cristiano Ronaldo so I try to never disappoint.”

Ronaldo will be the most expensive player in football history when his 80 million pound move to Madrid is done and dusted.

Along with Brazilian midfielder Kaka, the two players will usher in the second Galacticos era at the Bernabau.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s impending record-breaking move to Real Madrid has been greeted with mixed reactions in the Spanish press.

Although there is plenty of praise for new Madrid president Florentino Perez’s success in persuading Manchester United to part with the Portugal international, the astronomical transfer fee has caused some division.

Providing Madrid can agree personal terms with Ronaldo and there are no complications regarding the FIFA World Player of the Year’s medical, then the 24-year-old will move to the Bernabeu in a world-record £80million switch.

That would dwarf the fee Madrid splashed out on Zinedine Zidane in 2001 and comes just days after the Spanish giants secured the services of Kaka for £56million.

Marca, Spain’s biggest-selling newspaper, hailed the news as “The signing of the century” on their front cover and “A signing from another galaxy” on page two, in reference to the ‘galacticos’ policy that Perez presided over during his previous stint in the Madrid hotseat from 2000-06.

That policy saw Perez splash out huge fees on the likes of Luis Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham, and the returning president has wasted no time in bringing those days back.

Marca also report there will be more money splashed around by Madrid in the near future, announcing above a picture of Ronaldo on their front page: “And next week the signing of (David) Villa will be announced!!!”

AS, who like their fellow Madrid-based sports daily Marca used a two-page front cover with a picture of Ronaldo wearing the all-white kit, acknowledged that the transfer fee was likely to cause plenty of debate.

“Praise is mixed with criticism for the price, a new world record - 94million euros for the number one,” read their front cover.

AS also claim Ronaldo will wear the number nine shirt at Madrid and has already registered the trademark ‘CR9′, while both Marca and AS report that the winger will sign a six-year contract and earn a salary of around nine million euros (£7.7million) per year.

El Mundo newspaper focused more on Ronaldo’s huge price tag as they reported the news.

“Madrid pay for Ronaldo 57 times his weight in gold,” read their headline next to a photograph of Ronaldo kissing the Golden Boot he won in 2007-08.

“Florentino Perez pays 94 million for him, a week after paying another 65 for Kaka. The sum of the two transactions is the equivalent of the combined annual budget of the Prado Museum, Reina Sofia Museum and National Library.”

El Pais followed a similar vein in an article on their website, saying: “Florentino Perez lives in another galaxy.

“In full global crisis, Madrid will pay 94million for Cristiano Ronaldo - a price that exceeds the budget of 16 of the Primera Division teams.”

Barcelona-based sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo’s front page headline, meanwhile, pulled no punches about what it thought of the transfer fee.

“CR94. Madness!” it read, before adding: “Florentino exceeds all the limits to pay 94million for Cristiano. The football world is in shock and even (UEFA president Michel) Platini criticises it.”

Back in Portugal, news of the potential move has been met with similar scorn, with sports newspaper Record stunned by Real Madrid’s ability to defy the global economic crisis.

It read: “Real Madrid spend 94 million euros for Ronaldo in times of crisis.

“He will earn more in 24 hours than our president of the Republic in two months.”

The Italian press were equally miffed.

With AC Milan having sold Kaka to the Spanish giants for £59million less than 72 hours before United confirmed they had accepted the world-record bid for Ronaldo, Gazzetta dello Sport responded: “That’s not fair. Mad Real. After Kaka, Real Madrid sign Cristiano Ronaldo.”

French daily L’Equipe believes the transfer could provide United with the funds to make a bid for Lyon forward Karim Benzema.

It delivered the news with the headline: “Ronaldo breaks the bank.”

Inside, it read: “Benzema’s turn?”, with sub-headline: “In case of the departure of Carlos Tevez, the Lyon striker could become the main target of Manchester United, who have a lot of money to spend.”

The article continued: “Ferguson has already asked that (Lyon president) Jean-Michel Aulas inform him as a matter of priority the day Benzema is for sale.”

America’s Los Angeles Times was more worried about the impact on the Manchester hair-gel industry than the effect the transfer has had on world football.

Their headline read: “Real Madrid’s $131million bid to talk to Cristiano Ronaldo is a hair-raiser”.

It continued: “The hair-gel industry in north-west England suffered a catastrophic blow Thursday in a world-record sports transaction after which the soccer marvel Cristiano Ronaldo seemed Spain-bound.”

Manchester United have accepted a world record bid of 80 million pounds for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

United confirmed this morning they had accepted an £80million bid for the world player of the year, with a world-record deal expected to go through by June 30.

The news had been expected given Real stated last night talks were under way and now it is only a matter of finalising the player’s personal terms before he completes a dream move to the Bernabeu.

Real president Florentino Perez had already vowed to do “everything possible” to sign the 24-year-old and, unlike 12 months ago, Sir Alex Ferguson did not even attempt to talk Ronaldo round, knowing the former Sporting Lisbon player had his heart set on a move.

A United statement read: “At the request of Cristiano - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player’s representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

“Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice.”

The news is bound to be greeted with some scepticism by United fans, who have repeatedly been told no deal had been agreed for the sale of FIFA’s World Player of the Year in the face of regular statements from Spain the former Sporting Lisbon star was bound for the Bernabeu.

It was even suggested Ronaldo would be due a £20million compensation fee from Real if the deal did not go through by June 30, the date United now state themselves as when they expect matters to be concluded.

As it now seems a matter of when, rather than if, a world-record transfer will be completed, Ferguson might wish to explain why he has gone back on his famous comment in December last year that he would not “sell that mob a virus”.

It is the first time for many years United will have allowed a player to leave they were not happy about losing. Yet some supporters may be pleased that at least another drawn-out transfer saga, such as the one 12 months ago, is not played out in public.

And at least the money could be reinvested in a squad that almost, but not quite, proved good enough to win back-to-back Champions League trophies, in addition to a hat-trick of Premier League titles.

And, in reshaping a squad that looks almost certain to lose Carlos Tevez as well, Ferguson might be able to offer Wayne Rooney a more permanent central striking role and fulfil the promise he has shown on the international stage this season.

The name of Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery is bound to crop up as a potential replacement, although the 27-year-old seems hugely overpriced at the £40million figure being bandied about in some quarters, with Wigan’s Antonio Valencia also in the frame.

Ferguson will certainly be making plans already to ensure his new faces are on board before United head to Asia for their pre-season tour five weeks from today.

Amid the frenzy over Ronaldo’s impending departure, it is bound to be asked whether the current debt hanging over United of almost £700million has played any part in the decision to accept Real’s huge bid.

While Ferguson has always backed the Glazer family for the support he has received, supporters will now be interested to see whether their manager is handed all the funds received from Spain, plus an annual transfer kitty said to be around £25million.

With Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville all reaching the end of their careers, it promises to be a far more testing summer than Ferguson might have realised.

And, for all the petulance and pouting for which Ronaldo is so famed, filling the void created by the loss of his immense talent may prove difficult.

Portuguese wing wizard Cristiano Ronaldo has reaffirmed his intention to stay at Manchester United.

Fresh speculation linked the winger to Real Madrid earlier this week, although the Spanish giants have “categorically denied” media reports they have a pre-contract agreement to sign United’s Portuguese international star.

And the 24-year-old now maintains that he sees his future with the Barclays Premier League champions, who aim to retain their Champions League trophy on Wednesday when they take on Barcelona in the Champions League final in Rome.

Ronaldo explained: “Manchester United is my home. My heart is here. This is where I want to play.

“The boss (Sir Alex Ferguson) believes in this team and so do I. Ever since I joined United he has been like a second father to me.

“This is my home now. I think even when I say my heart is here people are going to speak up and make things up. But this is where I want to play.

“We are part of an era that can go down in history for the way we are playing and for the trophies we are winning.

“The boss believes in this team and so do I. And this is where I want to be. Manchester United is now my house.”

Ronaldo was keen to praise Ferguson for enabling him to blossom at Old Trafford.

He continued in the News of the World: “He is two different people and they have both helped me become who I am today.

“Firstly he is probably the most knowledgeable football coach in the world. I learn from him every day.

“No matter how good I become, I know he is a man who will always be able to teach me that little bit more.

“I don’t get tired of learning from him because I know every bit of advice he gives me will make me a better player.

“The second person he is, is a father to me. Ever since I joined Manchester United, he has been like a second father to me.

“I don’t just respect him, I have the affection for him a child has for his father.

“When he gives me advice that is non-football, I listen because it will make me a better person.”

Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted his dream of playing with Spanish giants Real Madrid may be over.

The Portuguese winger has handed United a huge boost as they head into the business end of the season by declaring that a move to the Bernebeu is no longer in his thoughts.

Ronaldo has been constantly linked with a move to the Primera Liga side but with three years still left on his contract it seems that he accepted, for now, that his future is to be at Old Trafford.

Speaking to The People newspaper he said “I’m no longer thinking of Madrid, that dream is dead.

“The only thing I dream about now is Manchester United and winning the Champions League again in Rome.”

Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed Man United are now confident of adding major trophies to their title of world champions.

Ronaldo’s wonder goal against FC Porto on Wednesday night was enough to earn the Red Devils a Champions League semi-final showdown with old rivals Arsenal.

Before that United must tackle Everton in the last four of the FA Cup before facing Portsmouth and Tottenham in a Premier League title race they are still leading after winning their last two games.

And Ronaldo is convinced the Old Trafford outfit can repeat last season’s haul of the major trophies on offer.

“We have an opportunity to win everything and we are very confident that we can,” said the world player of the year.

“We did not play fantastic in the last five or six games but we expect the next ones will be better because of what we did last night.”

In beating Porto at the Stadio do Dragao, United became the first English team to beat their opponents on their own ground, with Ronaldo taking centre stage by rifling home from fully 35 yards after just six minutes.

“It is the best goal I have scored,” he said.

“It was a fantastic strike and I can’t wait to see it again on DVD. I am very happy with it.”

The goal put Porto on the back foot almost immediately.

And though United were forced to survive a few scary moments as the home side desperately tried to find a way through at the end, Sir Alex Ferguson was never seriously concerned his side would lose their precious lead.

It means for the first time United must face English opposition in a two-legged European tie, with old rival Arsene Wenger lying in wait for a battle to decide who will go to Rome for the final on May 27.

“It would be tough no matter who we played but the fact it is another English side gives a different type of spice to it,” said Ferguson.

“We are two good footballing sides, so it should be a terrific semi-final.

“Our game earlier in the season was fantastic. It was the way football should be played and we will look forward to it.

“The first leg is at home, so 1-0 would be perfect for us. But it is not going to be easy.”

The contributions of Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs, whose energy belied his 35 years, were crucial, as was the secure goalkeeping of Edwin van der Sar and the return of Rio Ferdinand from a groin injury.

But, as Ferguson acknowledged, none of it would have mattered without the contribution of Ronaldo, whose 20th goal of the season - and only his second in the Champions League since last year’s final - was enough to inflict Porto’s first defeat on home soil against English opposition.

“I will have to trawl a long way back through my memory bank to come up with anything as good as that,” said Ferguson.

“It was a sensational goal. It was a great strike and to do it so early gave us the platform to go on and win.

“It put them on the back foot and I really don’t think they had a chance after that.”

Sir Alex Ferguson is relieved Steven Taylor will not face any further action for his tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo.

But he claimed hard-nosed defenders will never stop the winger entertaining the fans.

Ferguson thought Taylor would be brought to account by the Football Association for charging straight through the back of Ronaldo during Wednesday’s Premier League encounter.

Instead, referee Steve Bennett only deemed it a yellow card offence when he watched the incident again, clearing Taylor to maintain his presence in Newcastle’s relegation fight.

Ferguson might be a bit bemused about the intricacies of the disciplinary system, but as Barclays Premier League title rivals Chelsea and top-four battlers Arsenal are among Newcastle’s next three opponents, the United boss is happy that Taylor is involved.

“The disciplinary situation does confuse you at times,” he said.

“No-one is really clear about it. But in actual fact we did not want the boy suspended because now he can play against Chelsea and Arsenal.

“In Newcastle’s position, with the injuries they have at the moment, it would have been devastating for them to lose that player. I am not really upset about it at all.”

Ferguson also agrees it has not been a good week for incidents that have involved Ronaldo, as the FIFA World Player of the Year was also harshly booked for diving during the Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

It has led to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger claiming there is a bit of arrogance about the 24-year-old, which makes him a target.

Ferguson preferred not to get embroiled in an argument with Wenger, feeling there was some legitimacy to his comments, dismissing the suggestion ‘arrogance’ within a top level footballer is a bad thing.

“What Arsene said was it appears like arrogance,” said Ferguson.

“There is a difference and I can understand what he is saying.

“When a player expresses himself in such an entertaining way, defenders don’t enjoy it.

“It was exactly the same when George Best was a player.

“It is not so much that they are prepared to do what they do, it is that they are encouraged to do it.

“That is the great asset Ronaldo holds. He has this wonderful courage. He just wants to entertain and do something good with the ball.”

Ronaldo is part of the United squad heading down to Fulham tomorrow for the FA Cup quarter-final tie.

However, with Inter Milan looming on Wednesday, Ferguson is bound to make changes as he tries to ensure his team is fresh for the Champions League decider with Jose Mourinho’s men.

United are aware the encounter at Craven Cottage is a potential banana skin on the road to an unprecedented quintuple, with the Cottagers being in decent form on home soil until Wednesday when they were beaten by an injury-time goal from Manucho, ironically on loan at Hull from United.

Ferguson feels the appointment of fellow veteran Roy Hodgson is now starting to have a major impact at Fulham, the former Blackburn coach having engineered a miracle escape from the drop last season.

“They were down,” observed Ferguson.

“To win four out of the last five the way they did was amazing.

“But experience is important and really Fulham are a reflection of Roy.

“He has a good coach in Ray Lewington and you can see the transformation in their team.”

Ferguson openly admits Inter Milan represent the big challenge of the next seven days, which will end with a heavyweight collision against title rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Yet the Scot totally dispels the notion that he is disinterested by the FA Cup, feeling it offers an opportunity other tournaments cannot.

“The FA Cup is still the best national cup tournament in the world and the target of getting to Wembley is a great one,” said Ferguson.

“For Roy Hodgson and his team it is an opportunity to get to a semi-final. When was the last time Fulham were in one of those?”

The answer is 2002, when they were beaten by neighbours Chelsea, who are still in this season’s competition. Not that Ferguson needed telling in order to reach the conclusion tomorrow’s match is one worth winning.

“We are looking at a bigger picture and I am trying to juggle a couple of balls at the moment,” he said.

“But reaching a semi-final is a big incentive for us as well and we will be prepared and ready to reach them.”

Cristiano Ronaldo was a happy man on Saturday after his stunning free-kick helped Manchester United beat Blackburn 2-1.

The Portuguese dynamo’s superb second-half set-piece at Old Trafford handed Sir Alex Ferguson’s men their tenth straight league win, a victory that takes them eight points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Although second-placed Liverpool can reduce the gap on Sunday if they beat Manchester City at Anfield, Ronaldo was delighted with both the win - aided and abetted by Wayne Rooney’s opener - and United’s table-topping position.

“The most important thing is that we are top of the table and now we are eight points ahead of Liverpool,” Ronaldo told United’s official television channel.

“I’m very happy that we got three points. It was a very tough game.

“The manager said before the game that it was going to be one of the toughest games of the season. He has experience and he knows better than anyone.

“We saw in the game that Blackburn created chances and they were a dangerous team playing on the counter attack.

“We controlled most of the game and had more opportunities. At the end of the day I think we deserved to win because we looked to score goals.”

Ronaldo also revealed that he was far from happy that he had been booked for diving, especially when Rovers midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen fell in the box but did not get booked.

“I thought Pedersen dived. It wasn’t a penalty. Pedersen dived and didn’t get a yellow card, but I dived and he did book me! But I suppose that’s just the situation of the game,” Ronaldo explained.

Despite being frustrated over his booking, Ronaldo was quick to say just how delighted he was with his 60^th minute winner, a trademark free-kick that was hit with terrific power and which gave Rovers goalkeeper Paul Robinson little chance.

“I was pleased with my goal, it was a good free kick and an important goal. I’m looking forward to seeing it on television!”