Real Madrid will try to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer by offering Manchester United a world-record fee.

The Spanish giants came close to signing the Old Trafford favourite before the start of this season, but despite protracted talks the prospective deal fell through when Ronaldo opted to stay with United.

Reports in Spain are now claiming that Real are ready to begin their pursuit of Ronaldo once again, with news emerging that the Spanish giants have already agreed to borrow some 60million pounds from the Santander bank in a bid to seal Ronaldo's transfer.

Ronaldo, who was voted World Player of the Year in December, is however set to command a much higher fee, with the overall figure expected to be more than the 75million approach which was rejected by United last summer.

The current world record for a transfer is the 46million pounds Real paid Juventus for the services of one-tine France international Zinedine Zidane.