Marca said that Real raised their initial €6M bid to €10M after HSV considered the first one as totally unacceptable.

It is believed that the Bundesliga side, where Egypt's Mohamed Zidan plays, are likely to accept the improved offer and seek a replacement to their influential skipper.

Real are admittedly interested in Van der Vaart, who was regarded by manager Bernd Schuster as the ideal alternative to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Spanish champions' hopes of luring Ronaldo to Bernabeu seem to be fading, thanks to Manchester United's insistence to keep him.

Soap Opera

Meanwhile, Real chairman Ramon Calderon indicated that his club has no role to play in the infamous Ronaldo saga.

"Look, this (the Ronaldo saga) is a problem that wasn't created by Real Madrid. Madrid are just spectators in this soap opera," he told AS.

"At the moment Manchester United and the player are in an argument and Madrid are waiting, and we can't do any more for the time being.

"Obviously, it's clear that we want Cristiano with the quality that he has. But there is a contractual problem that United and the player have to resolve, not us."

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