Manchester United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz has stepped into the row with Real Madrid over Cristiano Ronaldo by accusing the Spanish club of trying to "naturalise" the forward.

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Alex Ferguson's number two used historical references to explorer Christopher Columbus to put across his point to the Spanish champions, who have upset United in their dogged pursuit of the Portuguese winger.

Earlier in the week, Real coach Bernd Schuster angered Ferguson with his claim that a deal to take Ronaldo to the Bernabeu this summer was as good as done.

United responded with a threat to report Real to FIFA, world football's governing body, if they did not end their perceived disruptive tactics. Real, in turn, claimed the problem lay not with them, but with the player and his current club.

But Portuguese coach Queiroz insists Real are employing dirty tactics in a bid to lure Ronaldo to Madrid, alluding to the famous Italy-born explorer Columbus - to whom both Portugal and Spain lay claim as their own - and the disputed border town of Olivenca.

"Cristiano Ronaldo will never be Spanish," Queiroz said in The Times. "As they will never take Olivenca again.

"They [the Spanish] already did the same with Christopher Columbus and it now seems they want to naturalise Cristiano Ronaldo."