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Moyes has financial backing for "stellar player"

Manchester United have been heavily linked to Cristiano Ronaldo © Getty Images

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David Moyes has a limitless budget to spend on a world class player according to Manchester United's new chief executive Ed Woodward.

Woodward, who has replaced David Gill as United's main administrator, said Moyes will be allowed to smash United's transfer record, the £30.75 million they paid for Dimitar Berbatov in 2008, should the right deal arise.

Asked if United would be willing to pay £60 or £70 million for a player, Woodward told the Sunday Times: "Yes. Absolutely."

United received a world record £80 million from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 and the forward has been linked with a return to Old Trafford, while Tottenham's Gareth Bale is another player who might command a similar fee and could be affordable.

And Woodward insisted that, despite wide-held beliefs that the Glazer family prevented him from spending heavily, Sir Alex Ferguson was also afforded the same freedom in the transfer market.

"I want to continue from where David Gill left us and David Moyes from Sir Alex," Woodward added. "The way we worked with Alex was he would identify the transfer targets and take them to Joel [Glazer] and David [Gill], who would have discussions which ended with them backing him in the transfer market every single time and we see that continuing with David Moyes.

"We could have broken the transfer record in the past if we'd wanted to. Alex may not have got all the players he wanted but that was never down to not releasing funds. There's never been a cut-off price. We haven't got money burning a hole in our pocket but we have a strategy on player purchases and if David wants to go after a stellar player he can do that."

But Woodward was adamant United will remain sensible spenders, no matter how big the fees.

He said: "What we will do is be careful with our money in the sense we're not going to go into the market as mugs. We look at the value of the player compared to other players in his position. There's no mysterious process."

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