If at first you don’t succeed, try try and try again. That appears to be the motto of this European footballing giant, who simply won’t give up in their quest to sign the world’s best player. While Sir Alex Ferguson may have been able to hang on to his most prized asset last summer, the Manchester United manager may have to accept defeat next year if this latest report is to be believed.

The Independent report that, like a hungry dog, Real Madrid are still sniffing around Cristiano Ronaldo. Never mind the talk of credit crunches and financial crisis, the Spanish club are set to lodge a £70 million bid for the player, who is clearly not against a move to the Bernabeu, having displayed a distinct lack of loyalty to United in the past few months.

Asked if he thought the possibility of signing Ronaldo (below) still existed, Schuster said: “Yes, I think so. I believe next year it will be a bit more difficult for his club to keep hold of him. There is hope that next year he will be with us.”

The German coach was asked if Real Madrid would again be willing to pay up to €90m (£70m) for the services of the Portugal international, as was suggested last summer, and he said: “If you want him, then there is no other option. They are not going to let you have him for anything less.

“The club knows that and this year was willing to pay a very high price. Perhaps next year the price will be a bit less, but I think you have to be prepared to spend this sort of money. We have to do everything possible because it would be worth all the effort to have this player.”

Indeed, Manchester United have demonstrated that having a Cristiano Ronaldo in your side will make the difference between trailing Chelsea in the Premier League and winning back-to-back titles. Do Red Devils fans expect this to be the number seven’s last season at Old Trafford, or do you think that Fergie has more tricks up his sleeve to ensure that the boy wonder remains with the English champions for longer?

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