Real icon hails Reds

Real Madrid legend Emilio Butragueno thinks Manchester United should be proud of the club's fans after experiencing the special atmosphere in the recent Champions League tie.

The man who was a deadly striker in his day, nicknamed 'The Vulture', was full of praise for the Old Trafford supporters in an exclusive interview with ManUtd.com and acknowledges that it was a very difficult tie for the Spanish giants.

"It was amazing," he said of the atmosphere. "I think you must be very proud of your fans and the fans have to be very proud of the team really.

"We know that winning here is really difficult for any team and we realised why the other day. It really was a very intense tie and very even but, finally, we were able to get through.

"To win here was always going to be very, very difficult because United are a great team. Even when you were 2-1 down with 10 men, you played very well in the last 15 minutes and we had to face many difficulties in qualifying."

Real Madrid progressed 3-2 on aggregate, not without controversy following the dismissal of Nani, and can look ahead to the quarter-final draw.

"We are going to be in the draw in Geneva and we will see what is going to happen," Butragueno told ManUtd.com.

"The final is too far off. First of all, we have to prepare very well for the quarter-final and then we'll see. In football, you have to be focused on the next game as the rest doesn't matter. Everything changes very rapidly in football. You have to be alert as every detail is important.