Cristiano Ronaldo is welcome to play for Manchester United but manager Alex Ferguson doubts he will return, as the Real Madrid man is now “unbuyable”.

The 27-year-old Portuguese forward joined United for £12 million (€15 million) from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 and left for Real Madrid for a record fee of £80 million in 2009. He plays in Manchester on Wednesday for Real at Manchester City in the Champions League. “I’d like to think the door would always be open for him to come back, but I don’t think it will happen,” Ferguson said.

“You’re talking about incredible amounts of money now. Who could afford to buy him? There’s talk of the Russians perhaps. But do you think he would go to Russia? He complained about the weather here, let alone the middle of winter in Russia.”