Ganso
Manchester United target Ganso has made a decision over his future. REUTERS

Manchester United look set to miss out on Brazilian midfielder Ganso after he indicated his desire to remain at Santos after December's Club World Cup.

Ganso, 22, has been heavily linked with a number of top European clubs since the summer, with United viewed as favourites to sign the highly-rated playmaker.

The Brazil international's current deal expires in 2015 and includes a reported £50m buy-out clause.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is in the market for midfield reinforcements in January after Tom Cleverly and Anderson were ruled out until the New Year.

However, the player is likely to snub a move to Manchester United after revealing he would like to extend his current deal.

"My desire is to reach an agreement with those at Santos and extend my contract here," he said. "I have told the president I want to talk in January after the Club World Cup."

Meanwhile, Ganso's teammate, and former Manchester United target, Neymar has been fined €6,000 in damages for accusing a referee of being a "thief" on his Twitter account.

After Santos lost to Vitoria last season, the 19-year-old hot-shot tweeted his anger with the referee's performance.

The Brazil international claimed that Santos are "always harmed by referees" and labelled ref Sandro Meira Ricci a "thief" for awarding a penalty against his side.

Neymar announced on Tuesday that he would appeal the decision. "It was never my intention to offend the referee," the forward said. Neymar recently signed a new contract with Santos until 2014.