BURNLEY Football Club is searching for the person who told fans Ronaldo was on his way to Turf Moor.

Subscribers to the club's mobile telephone text messaging service were left dribbling in anticipation on Monday when a hoax message was sent out.

The message told diehard fans that World Footballer of the Year and last year's World Cup Golden Boot winner was swapping Real Madrid's Bernabau for Burnley's Turf Moor.

The club has promised fans they will not have to pay for the message that said the man who cost Real 45million Euros was coming to the cash-strapped Clarets.

A club spokesman added: "It could have been sent from our own office, or by someone working for the company that operates the service, but at the moment we don't know who it was."

The club refused to be drawn on what action the person responsible would face.