London, Aug. 5 : Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson does not see anyone of his present squad or in the near future matching the football skills of Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

Fergie has described Ronaldo, who was transferred to Spain’s Real Madrid FC for a record 80 million pounds this year, as fantastic and irreplaceable.

Paying rich tribute to the Portugal forward, the Daily Express quoted Ferguson, as saying: “We knew that we could never replace Ronaldo. No matter what anyone says about the lad, for my money he is the best footballer in the world.”

“He was fantastic and you don’t replace that. When you’ve had someone who is the best at what he does, it is no good trying to find someone to do the same job,” he added.

Ferguson has opted to look within Old Trafford for an alternative way to win the Premier League without him.

Tonight’s friendly with Valencia will gave Ferguson another chance to assess his options, refining his final post-Ronaldo team revamp against Chelsea in the Community Shield on Sunday. (ANI)