The Portuguese celebrates his 23rd birthday next week and will be able to toast a £140,000-a-week deal - a pay rise of £50,000 a week.

This would see him oust Chelsea captain John Terry as the Premier League's highest earner at £135,000.

Alex Ferguson is prepared to disregard the wage structure at Old Trafford - striker Wayne Rooney gets £100,000 - to keep his star out of the clutches of Real Madrid, AC Milan and Barcelona.

Yesterday, The Sunday Mirror reported that the Catalan giants are looking to break the bank in uniting former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and Ronaldo at the Nou Camp.

Jorge Mendes, the agent who represents Mourinho and Ronaldo, has had a series of meetings with leading Barca officials in the last two weeks.

When pressed on the winger's future, Mendes would only say: 'This is a subject that depends totally on United.'

Ronaldo has scored an astonishing 27 goals in 28 matches so far this term, and is on course to bust George Best's record of 33 goals in a season.

Away from the pitch, analysts expect him to become football's most commercially precious commodity within the next two or three years and his popularity is highest in Asia, the area United perceive to be key to expanding their brand.

A deal on the winger's image rights could be worth at least another £35,000 per week - United did the same with David Beckham.

Ronaldo's wealth and popularity are an amazing turn-around for the Portuguese, whose father was a gardener and mum a cook. They lived in a tumble-down shack in the middle of a working-class district in Funchal.

But, despite his flashy playboy image - his prized possession is a £149,000 Bentley convertible and he uses a £60,000 Audi R8 as his 'runabout' - his quality on the pitch is based as much on his skills as it is on hard work.

Half an hour before training begins, he is in the gym, sculpting his body.

Half an hour after training, he spends 30 minutes striking free kick after free kick.

Last Wednesday, in the 2-0 win over Portsmouth, his second goal came from a perfectly executed free kick.

He has refused to divulge his secret - but when Ronaldo places the ball, he pushes it into the ground so that when he plants his standing foot next to the ball, it pops up, giving the shot something of the quality of a volley.

Perhaps this is why he imparts such dip, suggested The Times.

And, where most players use their in-step, the Portuguese strikes the ball using the tops of his toes and hits right through the line rather than around the ball.

Even Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger can only stand back and admire, admitting Ronaldo would get his vote for Footballer of the Year.

'Someone asked me what is the difference between Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi. It is the goals,' he said.

'Messi is more of a dribbler in a very short space, but Ronaldo is good in the air, good on free kicks, right foot, left foot. He has developed very well.'