Pellegrini hopeful over Alonso deal
Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini has not given up hope of signing Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, although the Bernabeu boss knows it will not be easy.
JonBuckle/Empics
Alonso: Still a target for Madrid.
Reds manager Rafa Benitez is eager to keep the Spanish international at Anfield and has already called on the player he plucked from relative obscurity at Real Sociedad to stay "loyal" to Liverpool.
Real are looking to strengthen the centre of midfield following their spending spree on the likes of Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazilian playmaker Kaka and may also sign another fullback, Pellegrini said at a news conference.
"It's not a mystery that Real Madrid are interested in signing him (Alonso) but it won't be easy," he said.
"We are looking at alternatives for some positions," he added. "The attack is complete and perhaps a central midfielder or fullback is still missing but the rest of the positions are covered."
Spanish daily Marca reported earlier this week that Alonso had telephoned Benitez to ask his permission to leave Liverpool and move to Madrid. The newspaper also speculated that €35m would be enough to secure the signing of the 27-year-old.
But the Premier League club are apparently asking for up to €50m and although negotiations are yet to agree a compromise figure, Real sporting director Miguel Pardeza said that the deal was certainly not dead.
"Madrid don't discard an option until it is truly impossible," Pardeza said. "Right now there is an insurmountable economic barrier but that is something that can change."
Meanwhile, Pellegrini, in his first news conference since the players began pre-season training last week, also said media reports that Real's entire contingent of six Dutch players, including Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, would be leaving were inaccurate.
"When there is some news the club will announce it," he said when asked which players were on their way out. "But it's not true that all the Dutch players are going to leave as has been reported in the media."
Pellegrini also responded to criticism of Real's spending policies published in Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano on Saturday.
The club's splurge of more than €200m on four players risks inflating transfer fees and pushing clubs towards bankruptcy or into the hands of organised crime, the paper said.
"Everyone has the right to give their opinion, right or wrong," Pellegrini said. "I am not the one responsible for talking about comments by the Vatican. If someone thinks that it's not good they also have the right to express an opinion."
Separately, Kaka said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday that Real were spending such vast sums because the players involved were value for money.
"If Real Madrid has decided to spend so much money on us it's because we are worth it, no?" Kaka said. "In the particular case of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the most expensive, he has shown he is number one and that he is worth the money." |
發表於 2009-7-13 11:39 AM
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