Real Madrid target Xabi Alonso, Kaka, Villa, Silva and Ronaldo
On Thursday I was lucky enough to spend some time chatting with Florentino Perez, the man whom Real Madrid have just confirmed has returned as club president. Perez, who previously held the post for six years from 2000 to 2006, will be sworn in later today (Monday).
Elections were due to be held at the Bernabeu in June, triggered by the resignation of Ramon Calderon, but with no other candidates aside from Perez able to meet the required €56 million bank guarantee, the former president and architect of the Galactico era will be elected unopposed on June 1.
My meeting with Perez a few days ago was part of a scheduled interview due to be broadcast on Revista de la Liga on Tuesday, but I was also able to chat with him at length afterwards and he was relaxed about discussing his transfer plans and ambitions for the club.
What Perez said confirms a number of reports we have already published here on the site over the last few weeks and this information, combined with conversations with a number of agents, managers and players allow us to paint a clearer picture of Perez` plans. Of course, all of this information is based upon what are Florentino Perez plans at this moment in time: there will no doubt be further developments and interventions from other clubs.
To begin with, Florentino Perez plans on spending something in the region of €300 million on 5-6 players. This will increase the club`s debts, but as was the case during his first spell in charge at the Bernabeu, Perez aims to sign the calibre of players who are of such high commercial value to the club and with such a high level of marketing potential that they will essentially finance themselves.
This was the strategy during the Galactico era when the recruitment of players like David Beckham meant that Real Madrid could charge €15 million just for turning out at a couple of friendlies in Japan. The strategy of signing the biggest names in the game and combining them with emergent talent and academy graduates became known as Zidanes y Pavones – and it is explained very well by Perez himself in the interview we will publish here on Tuesday evening.
With regard to Florentino Perez` choice of manager, as we explained here the other day, the Madrid president was holding out for a positive response from Arsene Wenger and had issued the Frenchman with a deadline of 31st May (Sunday). That date has now passed, without the desired reply from Wenger – as we anticipated here – and the confirmation of Manuel Pellegrini from Villarreal as the next coach of Real Madrid is expected on Tuesday.
Perez plans to confirm Kaka as his first big name signing on either Thursday or Friday. The AC Milan player will cost around €68 million, but personal terms are yet to be finalised, which could delay the presentation.
Florentino Perez also plans to go shopping in Valencia: with David Villa and David Silva the priorities – although a deal for Raul Albiol could also be on the cards if Madrid can negotiate a fee they are comfortable with.
FC Barcelona are also hoping to tie up a deal with David Villa, who has always expressed a reference to stay in Spain, but Perez has told Villa to wait before agreeing anything with the Spanish Champions as he intends to beat anything Barcelona offer (€35 million).
David Silva is high up the list, but Perez is reluctant to go beyond a package totaling €30 million.
Florentino Perez has reached a personal agreement with Franck Ribery: another player who has also been linked with a move to Barcelona. Bayern Munich are aware of all this interest and will do everything they can to get the highest possible fee for the Frenchman: they will try and hold out for around €50 million, but Perez will bide his time and try and sign him for around €40 million.
Xabi Alonso is also a definite Real Madrid target and Rafa Benitez is aware of that fact. After 5 years at Anfield, the player could be feeling that now is the right time to return to Spain – plus Benitez could certainly make use of the €25 million or so he will receive for Alonso in the transfer market this summer. I am under the impression that this deal could be concluded relatively quickly and be finalized within the next three weeks or so.
As we have been saying since last summer, Cristiano Ronaldo had a pre-contract agreement with Real Madrid that was initiated by the former President Ramon Calderon. The terms of that agreement were structured around an £80 million transfer fee and means that if a deal were to take place for that amount – then substantial payments to both player and agent would be involved. However, while Florentino Perez believes that Cristiano Ronaldo has a buyout clause of around £80 million, he is not willing to pay that amount, nor does he wish to meet the terms of the pre-agreement .
Cristiano Ronaldo is on Florentino Perez` list, but the Real Madrid President is not willing to spend more than €65 million on the package. Of course, it remains to be seen as to whether Manchester United would even consider selling at that price, but Florentino Perez is of the opinion that the Premier League champions could be willing to sell and that Sir Alex Ferguson is paving the way for Ronaldo`s departure with his pursuit of Valencia and the acquisition of the two young Serbians. However, Perez is in no rush to draw a line under this transfer and is willing to play a game of brinkmanship with Manchester United that could run right up until the closure of the summer transfer window.
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