Real Madrid has contacted several Premier League clubs with a list of nine players it is keen to offload to recover some of the $246 million it spent on Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. A crew of Dutch players is available: Arjen Robben, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Rafael van der Vaart and Royston Drenthe. The defensive midfielder Mahamadou Diarra and the striker Javier Saviola have also been made available.
Madrid has a target of $138 million of incoming transfer fees to help fund a total outlay that could reach $415 million. That would represent a significant loss on players who cost the club more than $221 milion. The vast majority of the players have also seen their value drop at Madrid. But Real Madrid’s new president, Florentino Perez, is determined to continue spending. He wants to make a renewed bid for striker David Villa after negotiations broke down at the last minute with Valencia.
Perez has announced that he had to “do in one year what we would normally do in three” and he is still determined to sign a left back, central defender and central midfielder. Madrid also wants to sign a striker and will reportedly go after Diego Forlan should it fail to sign Villa. Madrid remains determined to sell players even if it doesn’t recuperate the players’ original fees, and would also consider loans.