The Old Firm are currently at loggerheads with the remaining 10 Scottish Premier League clubs following the collapse of the proposed SPL television channel.

Rumours persist that the Glasgow giants are set to be invited into the Nationwide League, while previous talks have taken place with clubs such as PSV Eindhoven over the launch of a completely new competition.

‘‘Maybe an Atlantic League would be a good idea,’’ said Perez.

‘‘What supporters expect is an exciting game and if they don’t get that, the clubs will lose their attractiveness.

‘‘Rangers and Celtic have to do something. There clubs were among the most important in Europe but unless they make a change they will just get smaller and smaller.’’

Real are on the brink of reaching the Champions League final following their 2-0 away triumph over Barcelona in the first-leg of their last four clash on Tuesday.

That should add further impetus at their attempts to capitalise on a brand name which they feel has been under-used.

Perez cites Manchester United as the world leaders in the commercial field and has set Real the

target of catching the Old Trafford club.

‘‘Manchester United are the biggest football brand in the world,’’ he said.

‘‘In the year ending June 2001 the market revenue of our club was 50% less than their’s.

‘‘We are not comfortable with that position. We have to reach Manchester United’s level and become the number one club in terms of marketing.’’

Real currently have two consultants working in China and are eager to tap into the Far East market as United have done so successfully.

Their Latin fan base also means a huge potential following in South America, while Perez revealed interest in the club throughout northern Africa had increased markedly since the record-breaking

capture of French World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane, who has strong Algerian roots.

Perez even suggested that nationality could become a major factor in signing players.

‘‘Five years ago we would never have even looked to Japan to sign a player,’’ he said.

‘‘But you can see a situation where there may be two players of equal ability one Spanish and one Japanese, and the club would choose the Japanese player because of the extra potential revenue you would get from that part of the world.’’