Manchester United Forums - United Zone

**praj** · 07-03-2009, 07:26 AM

Valdano: Real have given up on signing Villa

Quote:

Real Madrid have confirmed they have abandoned their pursuit of highly-rated Valencia striker David Villa after clinching a deal to sign Olympique Lyonnais forward Karim Benzema.

GettyImages
David Villa: Spanish striking sensation

Benzema agreed a €35m (£29.7m) deal with the Spanish club on Wednesday and Madrid's director general Jorge Valdano said that his capture, along with that of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, means they don't need another goalscorer.

"Benzema fulfils the goal of having a striker, a goal scorer who brings a lot of presence and aggression to the forward line," Valdano said.

When asked if the French international's arrival had put an end to their bid for Villa the Real chief said: "Benzema and Villa both have these [goal scoring] characteristics so the answer to your question is yes."

Last month it appeared that Madrid were on the verge of signing Villa from cash-strapped Los Che but the club decided not to sell their star player at the last moment and Real later declared the deal to be "100% finished".

Meanwhile, former Valencia defender Raul Albiol has become the latest player to be presented to the fans at the Santiago Bernabeu following his €15m (£13m) switch from the Estadio Mestalla.

The Spain international, who has recently returned from the Confederations Cup in South Africa, said: "I don't have to say that I'm very happy to be here. It comes with great pride to be welcomed like that."

Source

**Torque** · 07-03-2009, 02:41 PM

Well, I think we'll hear soon that Barca are close to sign Villa.

It was pretty clear that they would stop pursuing Villa once they've stolen Benzema. Villa wouldn't have accepted to be benched, 'cause Raul is Raul. And there's also Higuain. It would have been an immense battle for a spot in the starting line-up.

**mg91** · 07-03-2009, 03:59 PM

Yeah, even Villa is claiming he wants to play for Barca next season, which begs the question, where will Eto'o be next season? But I digress...

I certainly don't see Villa swapping the white of Valencia for the white of Madrid.

**funkdoctorspock** · 07-03-2009, 08:09 PM

If Villa signs with Barca, Eto'o is gone either this season or next once his contract expires.

Would be very interested to see how he would fare at Barca if the deal goes through.

**Leggster** · 07-05-2009, 07:48 PM

Yeah would be a great addition to their squad. I would still love Villa to come to OT but its highly unlikely.

**Torque** · 07-05-2009, 08:37 PM

While it would be a great addition, they won't be benching Raul.

Anyway, Raul is old and I think they could have made an agreement with Valencia, regarding Villa, similar to the one we had with them, regarding Ronaldo. If it is true, next year Villa will be their player.