No way Inter would sell Ronaldo, says Moratti

"I haven't spoken to him recently. But I know from experience that whenever he is in Brazil confusion is created," Moratti told La Repubblica newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. "I'm accustomed to not believing what's reported. I believe only what I see and hear with my own ears. That's why, above all, I'm waiting to speak to Ronaldo one-to-one."

Ronaldo's agent told Real Madrid last week that the World Cup winner was ready to leave Inter, although Real's sporting director Jorge Valdano said the club were only relatively interested in the player.

Moratti, who spent $27.9 million to acquire Ronaldo from Barcelona in 1997, said he could not imagine Inter without the 25-year-old and would do everything to keep him.

"Inter have no intention of giving in on this.

"He is not for sale. We have only fixed a base price, below which we would not go, and that begins at 100 million euros," he said.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has already broken the transfer record twice in his first two years in charge to buy Luis Figo for $56 million from Barcelona and Zinedine Zidane for $66 million from Juventus. Forking out close to $100 million for Ronaldo is not a possibility.

"Some time ago, when some figures were put on the table, we were so far away we couldn't even get to 50 percent," Real sporting director Valdano said on Friday, when the Ronaldo rumours first surfaced.

Moratti said he expected to see Ronaldo possibly as early as Monday, when the player returned to start preparing for the new season.

"I think he's going to arrive Monday. But even if it's Tuesday or Wednesday, that's no problem.

"I just want to see him face-to-face."