Real Madrid decide to make very small valuation just to piss off Benitez!

Sports - September 25, 2007

The Rumour

Real Madrid refuse to pay over the odds for Liverpool pair Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.

The Sun says Real Madrid are keen to bring Spanish midfielder Xabi, 27, home along with Kop team-mate Arbeloa.

And Alonso is keen to move because he feels Rafa Benitez, who almost sold him to Juventus last summer, is pushing him towards the exit door.

Real are willing to pay around £23million for the duo but will not be held to ransom.

The Source: (tribalfootball.com)

The Analysis

Surely if Rafa is going to consider the sale of two of his Spanish contingent it will be for a lot more than the money that Real Madrid are offering! Alonso on his own in the current financial climate is worth more than £23m surely!

The La Liga sides new found wealth is causing all sorts of problems for major teams across Europe as Florentino Perez looks to buy up all the top talent on the market and then some. Benitez will have to think long and hard about this because recent quotes attributed to Xabi seem to have him sitting on the fence, claiming he would be proud to join the Spanish giants but happy to stay at Liverpool also, which is a bit of a problem.

As for Arbeloa, he is surely going to leave sometime soon.

The Likelihood

Arbeloa and Alonso to Real Madrid: Watch this space!

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