Real Madrid's newly-appointed coach Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo is very much part of his plans for next season.

The Portuguese forward has been linked with a return to Manchester United following his refusal to commit to a new contract, but the Italian said that he is relishing the opportunity to coach him.

"Ronaldo's a fantastic, marvellous player. It's an honour to coach a player like Ronaldo like it was to coach [Zinedine] Zidane," The Sun quotes Ancelotti as saying.

"Ronaldo was not on the list of players like Brazilian Ronaldo, Zidane and Ronaldinho that I coached. He will be on the list of players I coached now and I am so happy for that."

Ancelotti joins Real following a successful stint with Paris Saint-Germain during which he guided them to the Ligue 1 title last season.