Schuster urges Madrid to dig deep for Ronaldo

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster has urged his club to “pay what is necessary” to take Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu.

United continue to insist the winger is not for sale, but with Ronaldo refusing to publicly commit to the European champions a move may be on the cards.

A world-record transfer fee of €100m (just short of £80m) has been talked about and Schuster insists the Primera Liga champions must be ready to dig deep.

“For a player of his kind of level, we must pay what is necessary,” he told German television channel DSF.

“Because, for us what is most important is to win the Champions League and he can help us achieve that.”

United have reported the Spanish club to world governing body FIFA over what they consider to be attempts to unsettle the player.

And the Madrid boss admitted he would have behaved similarly with such a vital player as Ronaldo, who scored 42 goals in all competitions last season.

“When you have a player of such quality nobody wants to let him go,” he added.