Real Madrid (old thread)

[Abaddon]

But that's not the case becaue you're paying him the money and not having him play for you, so Sunny's right to put the 4m€ down in the minus column.

Like he was gonna play anyway? Getting rid of him is addition by substraction.

 

[Nándor]

While I cannot guarantee that Defour would make it at Madrid, he's not far from Xabi imo. Xabi is a great player but not THAT special in my opinion, to say there is no alternative is just silly.

it's not silly at all ward...take a closer look or at least the look i'm taking: xabi alonso, at this current stage, is world class. world class as in having proved his worth & quality by playing a big role in l'pools CL win, as well as in spains EC win. this in mind, he can be considered as an experienced player on european top level (CL, EC & EPL), while he's still got the best ahead of him at the age of 27.

now to defour...can you seriosly say he's on the same level as xabi alonso, therefore being an equal alternative to the former??? no and i won't claim you would. so what can you say??? you can say in his favour, that he carries the midfield of a team in the belgian league and that he is a very talented player...i have no intention of denying that. but so what??? that can be said as well about sneijder, granero & even parejo.
so, the one question i have, which answer is the actual reason why i consider there is no available alternative to xabi alonso in the current transfer market, is, what does defour have better than what's already there or has been there (sneijder, granero & parejo), that justifies paying around 20m € for him???

IMO, nothing...he would add no improvement to sneijder or granero. which is exactly why i say it would be a bad move and that there are no alternatives out there at the moment that are available. still silly to say so??? if so and you stay firm, i would ask you to tell me why you would trust a 21y old kid that plays in the belgian league, with only little to no experience on europes big stage (CL little, big league none) more than the likes of sneijder & granero to carry this madrids midfield???

 

[Cule Angles]

Ok then. What's 4m to you lot anyway? You can just flog another canterano, that's what the Castilla side's for isn't it?

 

[Esteve]

Burn. Again.

 

[Abaddon]

it's not silly at all ward...take a closer look or at least the look i'm taking: xabi alonso, at this current stage, is world class. world class as in having proved his worth & quality by playing a big role in l'pools CL win, as well as in spains EC win. this in mind, he can be considered as an experienced player on european top level (CL, EC & EPL), while he's still got the best ahead of him at the age of 27.

fully agreed, he's world class in his role.

now to defour...can you seriosly say he's on the same level as xabi alonso, therefore being an equal alternative to the former??? no and i won't claim you would. so what can you say??? you can say in his favour, that he carries the midfield of a team in the belgian league and that he is a very talented player...i have no intention of denying that. but so what??? that can be said as well about sneijder, granero & even parejo.
so, the one question i have, which answer is the actual reason why i consider there is no available alternative to xabi alonso in the current transfer market, is, what does defour have better than what's already there or has been there (sneijder, granero & parejo), that justifies paying around 20m € for him???

I don't claim Defour is equal to Xabi Alonso. All I know is that he has excelled everywhere he has played so far, including great performances in Europe against big teams, like Liverpool (who barely scraped past Standard). Xabi is a great player but he's no Ronaldo or Messi, there are players out there with a similar game, similar qualities. Whether they can make it on the biggest stage, like Xabi, remains to be seen but they are alternatives you have to look at when getting Xabi is not realistic. By all means Xabi is still the first choice, but the price has to be reasonable. Personally, I would never pay over 30M for him.

What Defour has that Sneijder, Granero and Parejo don't have? Hard to compare since he plays a different role than all of those. I don't claim he's better than any of them, but if you want someone to play that Xabi role then he fits it best, better than Sneijder, Granero or Parejo.

IMO, nothing...he would add no improvement to sneijder or granero. which is exactly why i say it would be a bad move and that there are no alternatives out there at the moment that are available. still silly to say so??? if so and you stay firm, i would ask you to tell me why you would trust a 21y old kid that plays in the belgian league, with only little to no experience on europes big stage (CL little, big league none) more than the likes of sneijder & granero to carry this madrids midfield???

Again, I don't trust him more, he just brings something different to the table. Something we apparantly need, since they've been running after Xabi all this time. Defour isn't just a kid that showed talented, he's been a key player since he arrived at Standard, is easily their most important player and has been captain of the team since he's been 19. That says something. Again, it's no guarantee that he'll make it at Madrid, but you gotta look at him when the Xabi deal falls through.

Anyway, I feel we'll get Xabi in the end so this will remain speculation.

 

[Metaphysical]

so who gets the 2?

one would expect albiol.

 

[Nándor]

fully agreed, he's world class in his role.


I don't claim Defour is equal to Xabi Alonso. All I know is that he has excelled everywhere he has played so far, including great performances in Europe against big teams, like Liverpool (who barely scraped past Standard). Xabi is a great player but he's no Ronaldo or Messi, there are players out there with a similar game, similar qualities. Whether they can make it on the biggest stage, like Xabi, remains to be seen but they are alternatives you have to look at when getting Xabi is not realistic. By all means Xabi is still the first choice, but the price has to be reasonable. Personally, I would never pay over 30M for him.

but isn't this exactly the meaning of an alternative in this speciffic context??? that you have another player of the same quality as the one you can't get??? for me, alternative implies exactly that, otherwise it would be nothing more than just a temporary solution.

yes, there are certainly players like that out there, even better ones as well. but they are not available in this transfer window, xabi is, which is exactly what makes him the best out there in this spot. and we all know that you have to pay big for the best ones. proven also by madrid official claiming, that there are not many players out there like xabi.

What Defour has that Sneijder, Granero and Parejo don't have? Hard to compare since he plays a different role than all of those. I don't claim he's better than any of them, but if you want someone to play that Xabi role then he fits it best, better than Sneijder, Granero or Parejo.

well, granero was basically labled by the media as being brought in as "alternative" to xabi alonso. and considering madrid want a midfield playmaker to play next to lass, i would say those three players fit the profile.

Again, I don't trust him more, he just brings something different to the table. Something we apparantly need, since they've been running after Xabi all this time. Defour isn't just a kid that showed talented, he's been a key player since he arrived at Standard, is easily their most important player and has been captain of the team since he's been 19. That says something. Again, it's no guarantee that he'll make it at Madrid, but you gotta look at him when the Xabi deal falls through.

Anyway, I feel we'll get Xabi in the end so this will remain speculation.

they are running around him basically cause they know exactly there is no other player in his position available with xabis qualities...my guess

and to clear this up...i don't doubt defours qualities, i can't, since a) he must have something to catch attention and b) i haven't seen enough to actually judge him. however, i do believe strongly, that players like him need the propper team/club and coach, combined with time in order to transfer their small team form to a big team and improve. real madrid just isn't the right club for that. calderon & mijat tried it by signing young players with big talent, but failed in the end. they just don't get the time and pacience they need in order to grow.

yeah, it is speculation...you even can take the statement of defours agent, claiming his client is followed by both real & l'pool into that context. one could speculate wether the intent is to actually sign the player or just tell l'pool "get us xabi and we take our hands off of your target defour"

so who gets the 2?

one would expect albiol.

my guess is arbeloa, since albiol already has been presented with the 18. i'd prefer him though over arbeloa, since i reckon he'll be the starter next to pepe and believe the low numbers should at least somehow represent the starting XI.

 

[Nándor]

according to AS real & l'pool have reached an agreement over xabi alonso...he will move to madrid for 30m € and sign a 4 year contract.

i'll wait for real madrid to confirm it on their official homepage.

 

[Miggy]

It's on Liverpool's website too. Just needs to do a medical.
Done deal.

 

[Nándor]

now MARCA claim it too...looks like it's really done!!!

It's on Liverpool's website too. Just needs to do a medical.
Done deal.

really??? thanks for that info!!! great news!!! :beer2:

 

[Cule Angles]

Damn.

 

[Esteve]

Booooo!

 

[Beast]

Done deal.. 2nd most important signing.. and great price .. sorry Eddy told u we will win the price 30 Million is a great & fair price for Xabi

 

[Nándor]

yes, now it's on realmadrid.es as well...HE IS SIGNED!!!!!!!! here is that :beer2:

welcome xabi alonso...your were the missing peace in madrids puzzle.

 

[AnfieldEd]

£30m is a great fee when I kept hearing from you that it will be lower than that!

So beast I expect from you that I was correct all along that £30m was the fee was not a penny less!