Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano believes Cristiano Ronaldo is "somewhat nervous" about proving he is worth his £80million price tag.

Ronaldo has had a fairly unremarkable start to his career as a Madrid player since moving to the Bernabeu for a world record fee in the summer.

The former Manchester United playmaker, who had a low-key pre-season, scored from the spot in his side's first league game - a 3-2 victory over Deportivo la Coruna - but also missed several chances.

However, an unconcerned Valdano has put that down to nerves.

"I liked Cristiano in the first league game," he told RNE.

"He scored even if it was from the penalty spot, he had a couple of good moves....

"Maybe he is somewhat nervous because he is a very good professional and he always tries to be the best, but you have to wait a couple of games and then you will see who he is.

"He needs a bit of time to adapt, like what happened when (Zinedine) Zidane moved here."