Manchester United to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid

Real Madrid will turn their attention to landing Cristiano Ronaldo once they have completed the signing of Kaka from AC Milan, The Daily Mail says.

The new Bernabeu president Florentino Perez has gone public on his pursuit of the Manchester United star, setting out a clear statement of intent that he intends the usher in a new era of the 'galacticos'.

Behind the scenes, Madrid's new board of directors - only sworn in on Monday - are looking into the extent of long-standing negotiations to sign the 24-year-old and the existence of a pre-contract agreement.

'What I want is for many of the best players in the world to play with us,' said Perez. 'Cristiano would be one of them. I'm going to work so that Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo can be with Real Madrid.'

Former president Ramon Calderon has hinted several times since leaving office that he had already tied up the transfer, though both Madrid and Manchester United have denied this.

Sources say the pre-agreed fee is about £75million, though taxes and commissions could take Madrid's outlay close to £90m.

Plenty to think about: Cristiano Ronaldo takes a breather from Portugal training in Praia del Rey this week
It is a fee Perez is said to be concerned about, but it has been claimed Madrid are preparing to go through with it any way amid astonishing claims in more than one Spanish newspaper that they would have to pay £26m if they break the deal.

When asked about the supposedly secret agreement, Perez said: 'I've been here for two days and neither (previous president Vicente) Boluda or anyone else told me anything about this.'

However, it is claimed Madrid's legal team are looking into the agreement and trying to establish whether it can be considered as just between Calderon and Ronaldo, rather than Madrid.

Such a scenario would appear unlikely, but Perez would still try to re-negotiate a deal with United, particularly to at least spread payments over five years.

The deal has been described as a poisonous legacy of the Calderon era, but while Perez appears to be putting a brave face on a reluctant deal for Ronaldo, he is delighted to be landing Kaka.