Real will pay 'whatever it takes' for Ronaldo

Real Madrid are prepared to smash the world transfer record with an £80 million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo after the Spanish club's manager, Bernd Schuster, said they would "pay whatever it takes" to lure the Portuguese winger from Old Trafford. With the Spanish champions also offering to pay Ronaldo £182,000-a-week after tax, the potential deal is nearly double what is currently the biggest transfer in football history which occured when Zinedine Zidane joined Madrid from Juventus for £46 million in 2001. With Ronaldo having announced his "dream" of joining Madrid, the club expect the 23-year-old to force United's hand over the sale, or put in a transfer request. Madrid may offer a cash-plus-player deal involving Wesley Sneijder or Robinho.