Source: Telegraph
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez chasing Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo
A response is expected in the Spanish capital. Florentino Perez will be confirmed as the new club president on Monday, bringing with him promises of lavish recruitment and a determination to knock the Catalans off their lofty perch.
The European football world will watch with interest, because Monday is also the opening of the summer transfer window and what Madrid do in the market will reverberate across the continent's elite leagues.
Perez established a reputation for delivering in his first period as president (2000-06), signing Luis Figo, Ronaldo and David Beckham. This time he is being more coy about naming names, but the identity of his targets are no secret: Kaka of Milan, Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United.
Kaka is believed to be Perez's first choice because the departing president, Ramon Calderón, was elected after promising to sign him. To succeed where Calderón failed would win political kudos.
With Manchester City's January efforts having softened up the Milan fans to the possibility of Kaka leaving, Perez is said to be confident of getting his man.
However, Leonardo is expected to be announced as the new Milan manager on Monday and the former Brazil international has a warm relationship with Kaka and could persuade him to stay.
That would precipitate a move for either Ribery or Ronaldo. It has been reported that Real Madrid are ready with a bid of £40 million for Ribery, but Bayern are in bullish mood, with general manager Uli Hoeness saying the club expect double that.
"If I hear that there was an offer for €125 million euros [£109 million] for Kaka, then Ribery has a market value of at least €100 million [£87 million]," he said. "But I don't want to talk about a fee we would consider because we want to keep hold of Franck."
Just as signing Kaka would get one over Calderón, Perez has concerns about trying to sign Ronaldo because the former president has been so involved in previous efforts to sign the player.
On Friday Perez alluded to an alleged "agreement" that has been put in place to sign Ronaldo for £70 million, should United agree to sell. However, any move for either Ribery or Ronaldo will hinge on Kaka's future.
One player who Perez is confident of getting is Liverpool's Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard was expected to be sold to Arsenal or Juventus last season, to free up money to sign Aston Villa's Gareth Barry. Now Real are confident they can lure Alonso back to Spain with an £18 million bid.
Barry's future is intriguing. He is entering the last year of his contract and Villa are hoping to keep him, even if it means risking losing him on a free transfer next summer.
Rafael Benitez remains an admirer and if Alonso goes the Liverpool manager will come in for him.
Tottenham have made it clear they want the England international, too, but Barry's aim is to play Champions League football, so a move to White Hart Lane would appear unlikely.
As ever, Harry Redknapp will be enjoying a busy summer. David Bentley is available for loan, and is apparently keen to move to La Liga. Redknapp wants at least three high-end recruits, with Blackburn's Stephen Warnock and Roque Santa Cruz near the top of his list. Sam Allardyce, the Blackburn manager, is looking to offload some players so he can go on a recruitment drive.
Benni McCarthy is closing on a move to Atletico Madrid while Olympiakos made an offer for Matt Derbyshire on Friday. The England Under-21 forward has scored eight goals in 13 games while on loan with the Greek side and wants to play Champions League football with them next term.
Agents are predicting a busy summer. Sunderland's new manager will have a sizeable transfer budget while Portsmouth would also recruit heavily should Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim's takeover go through.
Manchester City will look to make some high-profile signings while the new Chelsea manager, almost certainly Carlo Ancelotti, will want to overhaul the squad – Yuri Zhirkov of CSKA Moscow should be the first of many arrivals.
It promises to be a busy summer.
