Man U may have to shell out whopping 3,80,000 pounds-a-week to bag Ronaldo

Manchester United are likely to get the opportunity to bring back Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo back to their club finally this summer as Real Madrid have agreed to sell their star forward, but the Old Trafford side would need to agree 3,80,000 pounds-a-week in wages, unless the player is willing to take a pay cut to engineer a return.

Several of the clubs with the spending power to buy Ronaldo reportedly expect the Portuguese to be on the market this summer, because of the persistent desire of Real's president Florentino Perez to create a splash by renewing his squad.

Speculations are rife that Real would feel the value of the player, who turns 30 in February, will soon begin dropping. Several clubs are speculated to have been quoted a salary of 3,80,000 pounds-a-week 18 months ago, when Ronaldo was feeling unloved by Real and expressing a desire to go, The Independent reported.

That wage would put the cost of buying Ronaldo on a four-year deal near 140 million pounds, on the basis of a 60 million pounds transfer fee. Some of the continent's biggest clubs feel that the effect on dressing room harmony caused by a player being paid 3,80,000 pounds-a-week is, on its own, enough reason to turn down such a proposition flat.

But salary is only part of the eye-boggling deal likely to be put in front of United by Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, who delivered Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao to Old Trafford this summer.

Perez is also reportedly expected to demand a high transfer fee, possibly the full 80 million pounds Real paid for him, since he can point to Ronaldo's two World Player of the Year awards and the three years left to run on his contract next summer.

The United manager, Louis van Gaal, said last week that Ronaldo would be a target, though he suggested that the Spanish side would not be willing to sell. The Dutchman had said that when it is possible, what he said with Radamel Falcao, players like Ronaldo give a lot extra to selection to a team, but added that he does not think Real would sell him.

The player's own ambitions will probably dictate the course of events, the report added.