London, July 29 : Spanish football club Real Madrid continues to insist that Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo will remain their No.1 summer target - despite starting to plan for life without him.

The Spanish giants have so far been frustrated in their attempts to prize the star away from Manchester United.

And while they now identified alternative players, Real coach Bernd Schuster insists Ronaldo is still top of their wish list.

"If this doesn't work out, we have alternative solutions but everything depends on what happens with Cristiano Ronaldo," The Sun quoted Schuster, as saying.

So far, the Red Devils have resisted all approaches for the former Sporting Lisbon winger and have even threatened to report Madrid to FIFA for their public courting of the Portuguese ace.

Schuster said that he admired the way United boss Alex Ferguson has handled this summer's longest transfer saga.

"I'm absolutely certain that if I was in his position I would do exactly the same," he said.

ANI