Chelsea chief Peter Kenyon has backed former club Manchester United in their battle to keep Cristiano Ronaldo away from Real Madrid.

"I really don't want to comment on Ronaldo but I think the contract stability issue is very important for football," said Kenyon. "Clubs should not have the ability to not honour a contract, and so we should expect the same from our players.

"If a player is injured and doesn't play for 12 months we fulfill our obligations.

"From a coach's point of view, you need to be able to think this is not just my team for this season, but these lads are here for two or three seasons - because you have to plan.

"And then there's the fans. A large part of football is connecting with the fans, and the fans connecting with the players.

"If fans felt there would be another 23 players at a club next season, then football will lose something.

"Football needs to look at this issue seriously because it's all about passions and relationships. You can't start with a fresh bit of paper every year."