REAL MADRID last night ruled out a mega-bid for Cristiano Ronaldo.

President Ramon Calderon denied Real will smash the transfer world record by saying: “We’ll NEVER pay £80million for one player.”

And in another amazing twist, SunSport can reveal United would NOT be allowed to let Ronaldo rot in the stands rather than let him go.

FIFA rules state a player can walk away if he features in fewer than 10 per cent of his club’s matches in a season.

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Calderon, who has infuriated United boss Alex Ferguson with his public chasing of Ronaldo, now claims to be delighted the player has made public his desire to move to the Bernabeu.

He said: “We are very happy with the declaration of the player. But it does not depend on him, it depends on United.

“There is no issue with Ronaldo but they don’t want to sell. The English club have to make the first step. United have the last word.”

Real boss Bernd Schuster sparked a frenzy of speculation when he said Real would pay “whatever it takes” to land the 42-goal ace.

But Calderon has put paid to rumours a world-record £80m bid — dwarfing the previous record of £46m Real paid for Zinedine Zidane — was in the offing.

United have maintained all along the Portuguese superstar would not be allowed to leave.

They even threatened to force Ronaldo to watch the season from the stands.

But under section four of FIFA’s articles for the status and transfer of players, it says: “An established professional who has, in the course of a season, appeared in less than 10 per cent of the official matches in which his club has been involved may terminate his contract prematurely on the grounds of sporting just cause.”

This rule gives Ronaldo, 23, a strong hand in his battle to get out of United.

 

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