Ronaldo future will be sorted 'next week'

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CONTRACT TALKS: Ronaldo and Man Utd will talk next week. (AFP)

Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo are to hold contract talks next week, Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon said on Wednesday, adding he is still willing to splash out on the Portuguese star.

"If after this talk Manchester decide to sell him, it is clear that Real Madrid will be in the running," Calderon told the Spanish sports daily AS.

"We have stable accounts that could enable us to make an operation of this calibre," he said.

Calderon insisted it was contractual problems between United and the player that stood in the way of Ronaldo completing his dream move to Bernabeu, adding that Real had been a "spectator in the comedy" between the two parties.

"We want Cristiano for his qualities, but there is a contractual problem between Manchester and the player that must the resolved - the problem is not with us," he said.

The Spanish champions have long been linked with a big money move for the 23-year-old, with reports suggesting the price tag could be 85 million euros (134 million US dollars).

But earlier in the week Real Madrid's management said that figure would be difficult to reach, and on Wednesday Calderon moved to praise his existing squad.

"We have an extraordinary dressing room, as unified and motivated as I have ever seen. It is an inheritence which few clubs in the world have."

Ronaldo, who is recovering from an operation on his right ankle carried out earlier this month, has remained silent in recent days over his plans.

He has persistently spoken of how it would be a "dream" to play for Real.

Ronaldo, who scored an impressive 42 goals last term as United won both the Premier League and Champions League, is under contract at Old Trafford until 2012 and the English side have made it clear they will not let him go.

He signed a new five-year contract with Manchester in April 2007 after being linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

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