Madrid madness! Real chief Perez now wants Chelsea target Ribery

05 June 2009 12:56
Real Madrid's lavish spending spree shows no sign of relenting after they indicating they could afford Franck Ribery as well as Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. It sounds like fantasy football, but Madrid president Florentino Perez says he is preparing to meet Bayern Munich chiefs to open negotiations for France star Ribery, who is also a target for Chelsea. It adds to the list of Perez's moves for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, the expected arrival of Valencia's David Silva and the president's admission that he likes both Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan and Manchester City target David Villa. The 62-year-old told French newspaper L'Equipe: 'I'm going to meet with my friends (Bayern president) Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and (general manager) Uli Hoeness to ask them about their intentions (for Ribery). I hope to be able to count on him for this year.' The £56m signing of Kaka from AC Milan will be confirmed next week and Ronaldo is being lined up to join in a £75m move from Manchester United. Bayern would insist on a similar dizzying amount for 26-year-old Ribery while Silva would cost at least £20m, while £32m has been set aside for Villa or Forlan. Madrid bound: Kaka (left) in training with the Brazil national team yesterday Perez's first stint in charge was during the famous Galacticos era where Madrid shelled out for big names such as Luis Figo, David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane. Since his return on Monday it has looked like Perez is planning on doing the same this time around, but he insists he is also going to focus on youth. 'I want to build a team with the best players of the world,' he said. 'With the best Spanish players and not forgetting the academy.'

Source: Daily_Mail