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11:24 GMT, Sunday, 7 September 2008 12:24 UK

Man Utd dismiss Ronaldo City link

Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United chief David Gill has rejected claims rivals City will make a £135m bid for Cristiano Ronaldo under new owners Abu Dhabi United Group.

Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the billionaire businessman at the centre of the Manchester City takeover, has publicly drawn up a list of big-money targets.

But Gill told BBC Radio 5 Live he is treating it "with a pinch of salt".

"I can't believe he is serious at those levels and, anyway, we are not looking to sell our best players," he added.

"Ultimately we would discuss any offer with (Manchester United manager) Alex (Ferguson) and the owners, as that sort of money is very large for one person.

"But he mentioned (Fernando) Torres and (Cesc) Fabregas in the same article, so I think we can remain calm, wait and see what happens over the course of the next months and years, and not worry about it too much."

Other players on Al-Fahim's list include United defender Rio Ferdinand, AC Milan's Kaka and Didier Drogba of Chelsea amid claims he could be willing to spend up to £1bn solely on player purchases.

606: DEBATE
Should Man Utd be worried?
And, with City having already bought Robinho for £32.5m from Real Madrid on the last day of the transfer window, Gill admits Al-Fahim could completely change the landscape of football if he is serious in his claims.

"I have never met the gentleman, so I couldn't say for sure whether he is serious or not," said Gill. "But that is a fantastic amount of money and would turn the industry upside down.

"Still, it is interesting that when Alex mentioned the Dimitar Berbatov signing from Spurs in advance that complaints were made to the Premier League and yet he is publicly listing a host of players he claims to want to buy."

Berbatov's arrival at Old Trafford from Tottenham was one of the most controversial moves of the summer, with Spurs alleging that United were far from proper in their approach for the Bulgarian and the £30.75m deal only concluded late on Monday night.

However, despite further claims that Berbatov underwent a medical on Monday and held talks with United without Spurs' express permission, Gill insisted: "We are very comfortable with how the whole thing went.

"There were allegations made, but we are comfortable that how we approached it was entirely correct and within the rules.

"We are very comfortable we had permission to do what we did"
Gill on Dimitar Berbatov's signing from Tottenham

"It came together on Monday and the agent was given permission for the player to come up to Manchester, we arranged the plane for him and Alex met him at the airport.

"It's true to say when the medical commenced we had not finished all the final negotiations with Spurs but both parties were confident they would be completed to everyone's satisfaction.

"We are very comfortable we had permission to do what we did and it was clear to Tottenham and (Spurs chairman) Daniel Levy in particular that he knew what we were doing and if that wasn't the case we wouldn't have done it."

Gill also confirmed that Berbatov's signing would probably be United's last this season, with the permanent signing of striker Carlos Tevez "the other bit of business we will finalise".



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Related to this story:

Ferguson unfazed by Man City cash (05 Sep 08 |  Man Utd )
Man City boss cools transfer talk (04 Sep 08 |  Man City )
Robinho makes Man City move gaffe (04 Sep 08 |  Man City )
Campbell hints at Man Utd return (06 Sep 08 |  Tottenham )
Man City 'will upset Euro elite' (03 Sep 08 |  Man City )
Robinho aims for title with City (02 Sep 08 |  Man City )
Man City beat Chelsea to Robinho (01 Sep 08 |  Man City )
Arabian might at Eastlands (02 Sep 08 |  Man City )
Arab group agrees Man City deal (01 Sep 08 |  Man City )

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