Real Madrid launch £21M bid for Man Utd's Ferdinand

Real Madrid have launched a £21 million bid for Manchester Unietd defender Rio Ferdinand.
 
The News of the World says Real's marketing director, Jose Angel Sanchez, flew to Manchester last week in a bid to exploit the turmoil surrounding Malcolm Glazer's controversial takeover.

The American tycoon has saddled United with a £265m debt mountain in order to finance his buy-out and may now be tempted to recoup some of that money by selling Ferdinand.

Real are also acutely aware that Rio has still not signed a new contract to stay at United and the lure of linking up with his England team-mates David Beckham and Michael Owen could prove irresistible.

Ferdinand has two years left on his contract and has angered boss Sir Alex Ferguson over his reluctance to sign a new four-year deal worth £100,000 a week.

Sanchez has closed the deals for David Beckham from Manchester United and Michael Owen at Liverpool over the last two years.