Mendes Rubbishes Manchester United Rumours and Says Cristiano Ronaldo Will Retire at Real Madrid

Manchester United's hope of re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo has suffered a massive blow with his agent confirming that the forward will retire at Real Madrid.

The Portuguese international, who spent six years at Old Trafford before signing for the 10-times European champions in 2009 has been constantly linked with a move to United. The Premier League club's manager Louis van Gaal even claimed that it is "possible" to bring the 29-year-old to Old Trafford.

However, Ronaldo's representative Jorge Mendes has cooled down all speculations linking him with United after confirming the former Red Devils star will continue at the Spanish capital club till the end of his long-term contract.

"Cristiano holds United dear to his heart because he was there six years. But now he just thinks of the Real Madrid and he will always be there, and he is thrilled," Mendes said, as quoted in the Daily Mail.

"People know that it is impossible to get Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Real Madrid. Ronaldo is the best player ever. He keeps improving and while he has affection towards Manchester United, he wants to stay at Real Madrid."

"He is happy there, he has a great relationship with the president, and has a long contract: he will retire at Real Madrid. There won't be any player as good as him for the next 500 years," Ronaldo's agent stressed.

Meanwhile, United's reserves coach Warren Joyce has expressed his delight after Will Keane scored a hat-trick for Reserves against Accrington Stanley in the Lancashire Senior Cup on Tuesday.

"I'm delighted for him and pleased he scored the goals. He has had to work very hard for a long time now and it's just the start of his comeback trail really," Joyce told United's official website.

"I think he can do more anyway. We've still got to have high demands on him. Because he was such a quality player, there is no point being soft on him and setting his standards lower."