Despite being under contract with United until 2012 Ronaldo has repeatedly been linked with a move to the Spanish Champions and has, himself, often spoken about his own desire to more to the Bernabeu.

Speaking to Sky Sports News Ferguson left little doubt by saying: "The matter is closed now. He (Ronaldo) is a Manchester United player - it's finished. He'll be playing here next season believe me. It's finished."

This follows comments earlier in the day from Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon which suggested that Real's signing of Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart was possibly going to be their only summer purchase.

"Rafael van der Vaart is the first and possibly the only signing of the summer for Real Madrid," Calderon said.

"We believe that this squad is full of quality, of plenty of talent. It's a team which is a great family, very close.

"We said that the new arrivals would be few but of great quality. That seemed logical after two successful seasons in which we've brought in 19 young, promising players.

"This (the low number of signings) was a request of the board of directors."

While fans would be forgiven for expecting yet another twist in this tale, it would now seem that the transfer season's greatest story has been put to bed.