As it turns out Gill has no such worries and while talk abounds of some Premiership clubs going bankrupt over the next few months, he insisted that money problems would not affect United despite the worldwide financial crisis.

'We've got to be confident. Football is only going to get bigger,' he said. 'We all have issues in this kind of environment, but my personal view is we can make what we need to meet our aspirations without too many problems.'

Gill did reveal, however, that United were paying about GBP43 million (HK$487 million) a year to service their huge debt of GBP660 million, which was created when US owner Malcolm Glazer bought the club in a controversial deal in 2005.

But Gill refuted claims they would struggle in the current climate to pay that off. 'There's no impact on us at all if you look at our revenue streams,' he said. 'We've sold out 57,000 season tickets for this season and we've 7,000-8,000 executive season-ticket holders.

'We're in the middle year of a three-year Premier League deal and we've heard from Uefa that in the summer there'll be improvements in income from the Champions League. And in the commercial area we have long-term contracts with Nike and AIG who are our shirt sponsors,' he added.

'We know that football cannot be immune from what's going on in the world today, but at the same time we have a robust business plan and our financing was put in place in 2006, a year after the takeover. A solid financial structure is in place.'

It can hardly help though that ailing insurance company AIG is United's shirt sponsor and its GBP56.5 million deal with them runs out in a year and a half.

'We still have 18 months to go on that deal, which is a long time. We'll review where we stand at the end of that period. We're devising our strategy at the moment,' Gill said.

'That said, we're not ruling out AIG continuing with us. It looks unlikely at the minute, but once they've turned things around they may wish to continue sponsorship. I'm sure there'll be no shortage of interested parties if they don't.'

Gill joined Manchester United in 1997 as finance director. He worked his way up the ranks and in September 2003, after the departure of previous chief executive Peter Kenyon to Chelsea, Gill was promoted to chief executive.

In 2005, he was appointed chief executive of the private limited company, Manchester United Limited, that succeeded Manchester United plc after the takeover by Glazer.

Gill, 51, was in Macau this week to announce the Red Devils' 2009 Asian Tour at the Venetian hotel.

The World Club champions' Asian tour takes place in July and will include stops in Jakarta, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and China. The mainland city will be confirmed at a later date.

But whether Fifa World Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo will be on the tour is another thing, if British tabloid reports can be believed.

The Sun newspaper reported on Wednesday that Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon had a budget of up to #105 million to sign Ronaldo over the summer and that the player would be paid GBP220,000 a week if he did move to the Bernabeu.

Every player has his price, particularly in these cash-strapped days, and if these figures prove to be true United may have no choice but to sell their greatest asset. It was something Gill would not countenance.

'All I'd say is that as a private limited company, with owners who understand that the commercial off-the -field activities are highly dependent on what happens on the field, they understand that the team must come first,' he said.

'That's been demonstrated by their support for Alex Ferguson and myself as we've invested in players like Owen Hargreaves and Dimitar Berbatov. We're a buying team; we're not a selling team.'

More than anything, he'll be hoping Ronaldo's accountant is a United fan.

With owners who understand that the commercial activities are highly dependent on what happens on the field, they understand that the team must come first

David Gill has bad news for Real fans - there is no way Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured with Sir Alex Ferguson) will be sold

Packing them in

A full house is guaranteed at Old Trafford with this many season-ticket holders, almost 8,000 of whom have purchased high-priced executive tickets: 57,000

Tempting offer

Spanish giants Real Madrid have amassed a sizeable transfer kitty, with Cristiano Ronaldo's name on it: GBP105m

Clock is ticking

Months to go before AIG's shirt sponsorship deal runs out, but United are not worried: 18

Road show

Games United will play on their Asian tour this summer, including for the first time in Indonesia: 4