London  - Manchester United accepted an 80-million-pound (131.7-million-dollar) bid from Real Madrid for winger Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday.

A statement on the club's website said: "At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player."

The deal is expected to be concluded by the end of the month.

If the deal goes through, it would break the previous transfer record of 59 million pounds set earlier this week as Brazilian forward Kaka moved from AC Milan to Madrid. (dpa)