Manchester United Transfer News: Cristiano Ronaldo Plan Ditched, Latest Rumours

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo may be one of the finest footballers on the planet, but even he isn’t worth a sum in excess of £80 million in the eyes of Manchester United.

That’s according to Neil Custis of the Sun, who writes that the pursuit has “collapsed” after Real revealed an asking price of £80 million-plus for the Ballon d'Or winner.

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Although Ronaldo is now 30 years old, he’s still one of the standout players in world football, scoring a staggering 48 La Liga goals in 35 appearances in 2014-15, per WhoScored.com.

The forward still has the same swagger he exuded when turning out for United in his early days too, as we can see here courtesy of the official Real Madrid Twitter account:

While a move for Ronaldo wouldn’t make a great deal of financial sense, nor would he be a capture with longevity in mind, the Old Trafford faithful would love to see him back. After all, the chant “Viva Ronaldo” still chimes around the famous stadium almost every time United assemble for a home game.

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But the prospect of any transfer is unlikely at this juncture. Real are right to want a massive fee for their star player and, although there have been perennial murmurs Ronaldo is unhappy at the Santiago Bernabeu, per Neil Martin of the Daily Express, that’ll always be the case with a player as high-profile and tempestuous as the Portugal international.

Bleacher Report’s Andy Brassell took a look at some more realistic activity that could occur at Old Trafford in the remainder of the transfer window:

At this juncture, it's a fantasy transfer. Even for a club with an affinity and a prestige like United, luring the 30-year-old back to the Premier League would be hugely difficult; convincing Real to sell even more so.

Instead of chasing a player approaching the end of his career, manager Louis van Gaal should be on the lookout for the next star who can have an impact comparable to Ronaldo when he burst on the scene at Old Trafford.

Although admittedly, there are few who would say “no” to seeing the United legend in the iconic red jersey again.