Real Madrid will pay up to £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid boss Bernd Schuster last night piled the pressure on Manchester United over Cristiano Ronaldo.

He promised the Spanish champions would pay "whatever it takes" - as much as £80million - to lure him from Old Trafford. Ronaldo is expected in the next 48 hours to officially confirm his wish to move to the Bernabeu. He signalled his intentions following Portugal's Euro 2008 exit.

And last night, in a move calculated to further infuriate United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Schuster effectively opened the next front in Real's offensive as he vowed to ensure Ronaldo is playing in La Liga next term.

"For a player like Ronaldo we will pay whatever it takes," said the Real coach.

"What counts for us this coming season is to win the Champions League and he can help us obtain that goal."

Despite United's determination to keep hold of Ronaldo, who is just 12 months into a new five-year deal, Real are confident of signing the 23-year-old.

Schuster's statement, designed to antagonise United after their efforts to get FIFA to intervene over Real's tapping-up, comes as Bernabeu insiders revealed the club would be willing to pay a world record £80m to land their prime target.