Real Madrid Transfer News: Latest on Cristiano Ronaldo, Ander Herrera Rumours

Honorary Real Madrid president Paco Gento is adamant the La Liga giants must not sell Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, while the Santiago Bernabeu outfit are reportedly eyeing a move for Manchester United's Ander Herrera. 

Rumours have been ongoing that Ronaldo is set to depart Los Blancos this summer, with Sky Sports' Guillem Balague recently reporting his price tag at £48 million.

The Portuguese continues to be Real's most important player, though, and former Los Blancos winger Gento insists it would betray the club's history to let the 31-year-old go, per La Galerna (via ESPN's Dermot Corrigan): "How are you going to sell a player who scores so many goals for you every day. No, man, no. Plus, Madrid have never been a selling club, Madrid above all have bought players. Madrid should not sell, they should buy. Cristiano knows the people here, and the club [hierarchy] love him."

Gento also hailed Ronaldo's "perfectionism," which sometimes sees the former United man lose his temper with team-mates when they fail to live up to his exacting standards.

It does seem somewhat absurd that Real should be considering selling Ronaldo as his goalscoring rate is still superlative, despite now being past 30.

He has netted 29 times in 31 appearances in La Liga this season and 13 times in eight UEFA Champions League matches, making him top scorer in both tournaments, per WhoScored.com.

Ronaldo has sometimes been criticised for being a flat-track bully and not contributing against the better sides, a not completely unreasonable accusation considering how his league goals have come this season, per ESPN FC:

However, his return in the Champions League is testament to his effectiveness at the top level, as is the fact he netted the winner against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in Saturday's Clasico.

As noted by Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe, Ronaldo put in an accomplished and sometimes selfless performance against Barca, and he eventually got his reward with his 85th minute goal:

He is still undoubtedly one of the two best players in the world, alongside Lionel Messi, and Gento at least believes he is worth keeping at the Bernabeu.

Herrera is reportedly a man the Real hierarchy are looking to tempt to the Spanish capital if they miss out on signing Juventus' Paul Pogba.

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According to Spanish outlet Fichajes (via Alex Wood in the Daily Star), Pogba's asking price—likely to be around £80 million—is becoming something of a concern for the Real hierarchy, and Spaniard Herrera is seen "as the ideal alternative to the French superstar."

The 26-year-old made a big-money move from Athletic Bilbao to Old Trafford in 2014 and has proved with United he is creative in attack from central midfield and also an asset in a defensive respect.

However, he has never been able to nail down a starting spot under United manager Louis van Gaal, and with the Red Devils currently struggling to qualify for the Champions League next season, he could well be tempted by a return to Spain with Real.