Owen Hargreaves may be forced to quit top-level football in the next two years if his chronic knee problem persists, ManUtdPeople understands.

The Manchester United and England midfielder has had two operations to cure a tendinitis problem in both knees but the pain has yet to subside.

It is believed the 28-year-old has not yet planned a return date but is still confident of making a full recovery.

He has had only 25 starts since a £17m move from Bayern Munich in July 2007.

Hargreaves, who was seen demonstrating his ball skills during United's warm-up for the Champions League final in Rome on 27 May, has not featured for Sir Alex Ferguson's side since their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on 21 September 2008.

He underwent surgery on his right knee last November and then on his left knee in January.

The procedures were carried out under the guidance of leading American knee surgeon Richard Steadman, who has previously operated on former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer, current Magpies forward Michael Owen and ex-Red Devils striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is now at Real Madrid.

Ferguson has previously said that he was "certain" Hargreaves would be fit for the beginning of the 2009-2010 campaign but it is now believed there is little chance of that happening.

Manchester United have declined to comment on Hargreaves' current level of fitness, but it is believed that his injury is so delicate it can only be monitored on a day-to-day basis and stepping up the intensity of his rehabilitation programme could have potentially disastrous ramifications.

If the England international suffers a recurrence of the original problem he would face another lengthy absence.

Hargreaves aims to manage the injury as slowly as necessary before making a return when he is pain free but he will not return if he is feeling any level of discomfort.

If Hargreaves is pain free he is likely to be able to play at the top level for at least four or five more years but, if not, a premature end is likely.

His condition, patellar tendinitis, can be described as inflammation of the tendon that attaches the quadriceps (thigh muscle) to the tibia (shin bone).

It can be caused by a number of factors, including a rapid increase in the frequency of training, sudden increase in the intensity of training, transition from one training method to another, genetic abnormalities of the knee joint and poor base strength of the quadriceps.

Manchester United are lining up a £15 million bid for Real Madrid striker KlassJan Huntelaar as a replacement for Carlos Tevez.

Sir Alex Ferguson is not confident he will keep Tevez at United with Manchester City ready to offer the £25million wanted for the Argentinian.

United are reluctant to pay the asking price set by agent Kia Joorabchian and have started to look elsewhere with Huntelaar on the top of Fergie's wish-list.

The Daily Mail 'understands Stoke are prepared to pay a nominal fee for Scholes' services and are expecting an answer from the 34-year old former England playmaker in the next few day'.

Scholes has recently admitted that he is getting frustrated at his lack of football, and that was before he spent most of the Champions League final on the bench.

He is planning to begin taking his coaching badges this summer, and Stoke could be his first job away from Old Trafford.

Scholes is famously reluctant to uproot his family, but Stoke may be close enough to tempt him.

Ronaldo is set to throw United into turmoil and demand a move out of Old Trafford. The 24-year-old forward is a £50m target for Real Madrid.

Ronaldo has reignited the uncertainty over his United future by claiming that he intends to go on holiday before deciding on where he wants to play his club football next season.

The 24-year-old, who appeared to criticise the tactics employed by United during the Champions League final defeat against Barcelona in Rome on Wednesday, made no secret of his desire to leave Old Trafford for Real Madrid last summer.

And although the Portuguese seemingly played down the prospect of another 'stay-or-go' saga by insisting last week that he 'doesn't care' about what happens at Real this summer, his latest failure to commit himself to United has merely clouded the picture once again.

The imminent election of Florentino Perez as Real's new president is unlikely to boost Ronaldo's ambitions of moving to the Spanish club. Perez has identified Kaka and Franck Ribery as his key targets and successful moves for those world-class players would all but close the door on Ronaldo.

Ronaldo returned to Manchester with his United team-mates on Thursday. He is due to fly to Portugal next week to join the national squad in the build-up to the World Cup qualifier against Albania in Tirana on June 6.

Ronaldo insists he will then contemplate his future on holiday before United return for pre-season on July 6.

Ronaldo said: "I don't want to talk about clubs. I want to rest and to go on holidays because I am very tired.

"I've played many games under a lot of pressure. The future? We'll see. My future for now is the national team. We must win to be back on track in the World Cup."

United chief executive David Gill recently moved to quell the likelihood of Ronaldo leaving Old Trafford this summer by reiterating the club's stance that the player is not for sale.

"He is a great player and he is part of our club," Gill said.

"We made it clear last year. He is on a long-term contract with us and I can assure you that [the issue of his future] has never come up."

On more than one occasion in Rome, Ronaldo appeared to go against team tactics, by ignoring the claims of Wayne Rooney and holding onto the ball in an attempt to pierce the Barcelona rearguard on his own.

I am gutted .It was not so much that Barca played great it was because I know we could have played so much better.
If Parks shot would have gone in the net in the first ten minutes it might have been a different game. we were brilliant until they scored then it all went to s***..
On the night we were beaten by a better team.
We should now concentrate on next season, bring it f***** on!!!