Italy coach Lippi backs Man United over Ronaldo

Italy coach Marcello Lippi has backed Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson's determination to block Cristiano Ronaldo's desired move to Real Madrid.

"The 100 million (euros offered) by Real is astonishing. But not everything can be bought," Lippi said in an interview in yesterday's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I think it's right that a player is not authorised to have the last word always.

"Ferguson is stubborn. I think Ronaldo will stay at Manchester. It's the right decision from a technical point of view.

"However, Portugal's result at the European championships shows that not even Ronaldo can win a big tournament on his own."

Lippi reiterated his admiration for Ronaldo's Manchester United team-mate, England striker Wayne Rooney.

"I'm in love with Rooney," he said. "It's beautiful to see him run after his defender up to the (corner) flag. He's the prototype of the modern champion."

The 2006 World Cup winner added that he thought it was a shame Frank Lampard was not moving from Chelsea to Inter.

He ranked the England international as one of the world's top four midfielders, along with Roma's Daniele de Rossi, Milan's Andrea Pirlo and Barcelona's Andres Iniesta.

He also had kind words for Barcelona's Argentina forward Lionel Messi, describing him as a "football genius".

Turning his sights on this season's Champions League, Lippi believes either an Italian or English club will lift the Champions League this season.

"Inter and Manchester United are in pole position," said the Italy coach.

"Everyone at Inter, from president Massimo Moratti to the kit staff, have this one objective in their minds.

"We should let Jose Mourinho do his work, as he is a great coach and with the full squad at his disposal, this is a very strong side.

"However, they'll need to reorganise quickly. Losing Marco Materazzi to injury was a heavy blow, while there are question marks over Zlatan Ibrahimovic's knee condition, Patrick Vieira's fragility and the recovery time of Ivan Cordoba and Walter Samuel."

The other Serie A club that Lippi is tipping for the trophy are Roma, who reached the quarter-final last season before losing to Manchester United.

"With Adrian Mutu, they would have been perfect. Now I understand Luciano Spalletti's doubts in trying to find an alternative, but Roma remain one of the teams worthy of the Champions League final, especially if they resolve the Alberto Aquilani situation quickly."