Manchester United suffer first defeat of the season as Real Madrid sign Fergie's top target Karim Be

01 July 2009 18:14
Karim Benzema has agreed to join Real Madrid from Lyon for an initial fee of £30million that could rise to £35m. The France striker had been top of Sir Alex Ferguson's shopping listas Manchester United sought a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. But, despite denials earlier in the day from the French club, Benzema has agreed to follow Ronaldo to the Bernabeu as part of a summer spending spree from the Spanish giants that now stands at almost £180m. The French club have confirmed the deal with sources indicating Lyon had waited until the stock exchange closed before announcing a deal just a few hours saying that reports to that effect in Spain were 'unfounded'. Confirming a deal had in fact been struck, a statement on the Lyon website read: 'A few days ago, Karim Benzema has informed (Lyon) president Jean Michel Aulas of his desire to go, more quickly than he had originally anticipated, to Real Madrid, who have always been his preference after Olympique Lyon. 'The player wanted to seize the opportunity offered to him by Real Madrid to be one of the key elements of their ambitious new policy, based around some of the biggest players in the world.

Source: Daily_Mail