The Spanish champions have previously spent close to £50million in order to bring Zinedine Zidane to the club, and it appears they’re ready to pay even more to ensure that Cristiano Ronaldo is wearing the white of Real Madrid next season. Sky Sports report that chairman Roman Calderon has no qualms about parting with a bucketload of cash in order to sign their number one target this summer, although his club could be in hot water if FIFA do find them guilty of unsettling the player.

“The price is not important,” Calderon is quoted as saying in The Sun.

“We had a player like Zidane who came here for £47m and it was a magnificent investment. It’s not a question of money but a question of efficiency.”

“The case of Cristiano does not affect the image of the club abroad. I would be proud if big clubs made multi-million offers for Real Madrid players,” he said, also stating that Ronaldo will decide his own future and not United.

“In the end, if a player wants to leave - whatever the offer is - he will walk. The question is to give him guarantees of success.”

Isn’t Calderon funny, repeatedly rejecting claims that his club are doing anything untoward and then making utterances such as the above, which are bound to wind up the powers-that-be at Old Trafford even further. Let’s hope these teams meet in the Champions League next season, where we might see some feisty exchanges on and off the pitch!