Juande Ramos has been named the new Real Mardid boss in place of the outgoing Bernd Schuster. Ramos has returned to Spain in in the nice comfy, if not pressurised, Los Blancos hotseat. His first game will be at home against Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday.
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Real Madrid’s Brazilian ace has joined the ranks of players claiming they have a “dream” in moving to a certain, oddly wealthy, club. However, after weeks and weeks of speculation, it looks as though another transfer saga is coming to an end.

Chelsea will not succeed with a £25m bid for Real’s attacking forward and his dreams are “broken” as the Spaniards refuse to sell. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Bundesliga club Hamburg SV have confirmed that their Dutch midfield star is moving closer to joining some of his countrymen by signing for Real Madrid. Is this the end of their chase for a certain Man United player – at least for a few months? [Read the rest of this entry »]

One of United’s modern greats has spoken out about the protracted saga that is Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid, stating Ronaldo would be “stupid” to ditch Old Trafford for the Santiago Bernabéu. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Not content with having a team capable of winning the Champions League, bar any slipups, Big Phil Scolario seems obsessed with filling his Chelsea squad with members of the national teams that gave him his reputation.

Having inherited Alex, Belletti, Ricardo Carvalho, Henrique Hilário and Paulo Ferreira, Scolari has set about signing Deco and allegedly had a hand in bringing Porto right-back Jose Bosingwa to Stamford Bridge. Now it has been revealed that another one of Scolari’s international ’students’ is in talks to head to Fulham Road.

Real Madrid striker Robinho is reported to be in contact with Scolari’s Chelsea over a £25million move. How credible this claim is depends on your stance on agents, with Robinho’s agent Wagner Riberio leading the claim in Spanish paper AS:

It’s true that Chelsea are interested in signing Robinho. They have been after him for a while and there has been much more contact since Scolari became the new coach.

I met with [Chelsea director, Frank] Arnesen in London and he confirmed to me that Chelsea wanted my player for next season.

The move apparently depends on Real’s outcome in the Cristiano Ronaldo saga. If Ronaldo arrives at the Santiago Bernabéu, Los Blancos will let Robinho move to Chelsea.

It can also be seen as a way of making Real sweat on Robinho’s contract talks. The agent was again in the press this week saying that Real do not value his player high enough and the club stalling in contract negotiations demonstrates this:

Robinho’s priority is to continue at Real Madrid. But he cannot stay in a place in which they don’t recognise his talent and at the moment Real Madrid are not doing that and I’m not talking about money

We don’t like this attitude and we want Madrid to start valuing Robinho because at the moment they’re not.

Whether or not Robinho will arrive at Stamford Bridge remains to be seen, but regardless of the outcome, the agent will have his nice slice of the pie.

Chelsea and Arsenal apparently are the latest clubs linked [Read the rest of this entry »]

As the United-Real tug-of-war for Cristiano Ronaldo continues, a member of Real’s Dutch contingent has felt the need to speak out at rumours he may be heading to Old Trafford as part of an exchange agreement to assist the transfer.

Wesley Sneijder released a statement on his personal site, rejecting claims he was on his way to Manchester as part of a deal to bring Ronaldo to the Santiago Bernabéu. He told his fans that, despite interest from the newly-crowned European champions after a sparkling display at Euro 2008, he will remain in Madrid:

I’d like to comment briefly on the reports and rumours that I might be going to Manchester United as part of some kind of exchange deal

As I’ve said already, when I left Ajax, all I wanted was to go to Real Madrid. They are the best club in the world. And now that I’m here, all I want is to win as many trophies as I can with them and wear the white shirt for as long as possible.

In short, I’m flattered to be linked to Manchester United…but it’s not happening. End of story.

Many different types of deal have been flying about with regard to Ronaldo’s protracted move to Real. Some have been as high as €100million (£80million), others have including Real players, including Sneijder himself, Sergio Ramos and Brazillian Robinho. Sneijder proclaimed his objection to Robinho being mentioned, hoping the two linkwith Ronaldo this coming season:

The same rumours have been doing the rounds about Robinho. Well, I hope he stays too, and I hope that Cristiano Ronaldo joins us at the Bernabéu.

I’m sure United fans would like to see Sneijder or Robinho (or both) at Old Trafford, whilst also pocketing £40million or so. Yet, does Sneijder’s snub show that United are always second to Real Madrid’s reputation and money in terms of attracting players?

Real Madrid have quite publicly been chasing Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo all summer, with many people bounding figures like £60million or £80million about. However, Real have made a move to distance themselves from their “best talent at all costs” image in the press. [Read the rest of this entry »]