Ramón Calderón, the former Real Madrid president, claimed yesterday that the Spanish club have an “obsession” with enticing Wayne Rooney from Manchester United.

Rooney is due to commence negotiations over a new contract at Old Trafford shortly, with a little more than two years remaining on his present deal, and while the United hierarchy have been reassured by the forward’s statements with regard to his staying in Manchester, the warning from Calderón, who put in place the deal to sign Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, should serve as a warning that the interest from Real is genuine.

“It seems that it’s an obsession for the president [Florentino Pérez] to go for Rooney,” said Calderón, who has retained strong links with some members of the Real hierarchy since resigning as president in January last year. “I imagine Manchester United wouldn’t like to lose a player like him. Sometimes it is a point of money and, if there is a proposal, maybe a deal can be reached. You have to take into account that the most important thing is what the player wants to do.”

For now, though, Rooney appears unenthused by the prospect of following Ronaldo to Madrid — and even seems unmoved by the challenge of emulating the Portugal forward’s feats at Old Trafford.