Real ready to splash out 100 million euros: Spanish newspaper
Real Madrid are prepared to splash out 100 million euros on new players to recapture past glories, according to Spanish newspaper Marca on Thursday.
Real Madrid are prepared to splash out 100 million euros on new players to recapture past glories, according to Spanish newspaper Marca on Thursday.
And top of the nine-time European champions' shopping list is still Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, although not at the reported 80 million euros bandied around in the Spanish press.
Real president Ramon Calderon has put 100 million euros on the table, accroding to Marca, despite seeing little return form the 106 million euros he recently invested in Ruud van Nistelrooy, Fabio Cannavaro, Mahamdou Diarra, Emerson, Fernando Gago and Gonazalo Higuain.
However, he recently confirmed that he is not willing to break the world record of 75 million euros his club paid Juventus for former world player of the year Zinedine Zidane in 2001.
"We like Cristiano, but right now he is a Manchester United player. But if the English team want to sell him, we would be first in line for him," Calderon told Atena 3 television channel.
"But we will not pay crazy money. A footballer is not worth 80 million euros."
Other players interesting the Real chief are AC Milan's Brazilian playmaker Kaka, Borussia Dortmund's Germany defender Christoph Metzelder, Porto's Brazilian defender Pepe and AS Roma's Romanian defender Cristian Chivu.
Marseille's France winger Franck Ribery, currently injured, has also been mentioned as a potential target.
According to Marca, Real are on course to surpass the single season record of 122 million euros that previously president Florentino Perez spent in 2000/01.
They have not won a single trophy in more than three and a half seasons and are desperate to end that barren run.