Karim Dream

Just a few minutes ago, Olympique Lyonnais has confirmed that a deal has been agreed with Real Madrid for the transfer of striker Karim Benzema to the Spanish giants.

I don't speak nor understand French, but according to the Lyon official website:

"Transfert de Karim Benzema au Real Madrid"

Somehow, it is safe to say that this roughly translates to "Transfer of Karim Benzema to Real Madrid!" (unless "de" or "au" means "not")

So far, the Real Madrid website has yet to confirm this.

No transfer fee was disclosed but it is estimated to be within the region of €35m. It has been rumored that Manchester United, who earlier in the day signed Antonio Valencia from Wigan, was leading in the race to sign the highly-touted French striker. With compatriot Zinedine Zidane as a close adviser to Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, it is possible that the former Real Madrid superstar played a crucial role in convincing his fellow Frenchman.

The 21-year-old striker would become Madrid's fourth major capture of the summer - after Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul Albiol.

It must be remembered that Madrid were on the verge of signing Spanish striker David Villa when his club Valencia suddenly changed its mind. Thus, Real Madrid had to look elsewhere for a world-class striker.

I now wonder what jersey number Benzema would be wearing. Kaka has chosen 8, and it seems that Ronaldo would wear 9. Perhaps, Benzema will inherit the number 5 jersey of Zidane.

No other details are available as of now, but one thing is clear - the trio of Kaka, C. Ronaldo, and now Benzema, would form one of the deadliest attacking trio in football. Hala Madrid!

Cuckoo for Kaka

At least 50,000 fans went crazy last night at the Santiago Bernabeu as Real Madrid unveiled Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos or Kaka for short.

As Florentino Perez greeted the Brazilian to the club, the fans began to scream, and soon that was overtaken as the former Ballon d'Or winner Kaka himself walked up on the stage, applauding all the way. The fans then started to cheer and chant his name.

"Thank you president, good evening to all Madridistas. This is very special for me. I'm very happy to take my career here to Real Madrid. There is nothing comparable to the history of this club," Kaka declared.

The crowd roared the loudest as Kaka continued, "Hala Madrid!"

Kaka was presented the number "8" jersey, which was worn by Argentine Fernando Gago last season (Gago is set to wear the vacant number "5" jersey - which was the number many had expected Kaka to wear).

Kaka has just won his first award as a Madridista a couple of days ago - winning the Golden Ball in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, after leading Brazil to the championship. We hope that that would be just the first of many trophies he would be winning with Madrid

Other developments

Meanwhile, Real Madrid has also scheduled two more player presentations this week. On July 2, recent signing Raul Albiol (from Valencia) will be unveiled while record signing Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be presented on July 7, which many expect will match, or even surpass, the number of fans who attended Kaka's presentation.

In other developments, Perez has recently said that he expects another new signing within the next couple of days. When asked who this player would be, Perez said he "cannot say who until the deal is done." Right now, it is unclear who that player would be. Valencia aren't selling David Villa anymore. Thus, he is out of the running.

Benzema? Forlan? Ribery? Alonso?

CR9?

Last time, I asked "if Kaka is our new Zidane, who would be our new Ronaldo?"

Well, it seems like our new Ronaldo is... err.. Ronaldo!

Last week Manchester officially accepted Real Madrid's £80million world record bid for the services of Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, it has been reported that the player has agreed terms of contract with the Spanish club.

If he ever does come this summer, what jersey would he end up with? His fellow Real Madrid recruit Kaka has been rumored of wearing Zidane's jersey number 5. Given the number of players set to leave Madrid, there might be a lot of possible numbers to choose from.

Of course, Ronaldo wore number 7 at Manchester United. However, Spanish legend Raul has worn that number for Madrid, and he seems untouchable.

Ronaldo might choose number 9, currently held by Argentine striker Javiola Saviola, who is set to leave the Bernabeu soon. This is the most probable, since it had been reported months ago that he registered the "CR9" trademark in Spain. The number 9 position is usually for strikers, such as his name sake the Brazilian phenomenon Ronaldo who wore that number when he played in Madrid (Ronaldo also wore jersey number 10 when he arrived in 2002 - since Fernando Morientes wore number 9), but C. Ronaldo, based on his amazing goal count, can be considered a "striker".

Another possibility is the number 10, currently worn by Sneijder. This would only happen if the Dutch midfielder leaves Madrid.

It would also be interesting if Ronaldo wears the number "8", which is worn by Fernando Gago. That would make it CR8 as in "create", descriptive of how Ronaldo should perform on the pitch.

At any rate, the most important thing is C. Ronaldo comes to Madrid, to form a lethal partnership with Kaka.

Most likely, they will be unveiled jointly at the end of the month - with Kaka holding on to the white jersey number "5" and Ronaldo with the number "9". With the same jersey numbers, the next thing this Galactico era's Zidane and Ronaldo have to do is start winning for Real Madrid.

If Kaka is our new Zidane...

Yesterday, I said that there are numerous parallels linking former Real Madrid superstar Zinedine Zidane and the recently signed Kaka. Both play a similar creative/attacking midfielder position. Both have won the Ballon d'or and FIFA World Player of the Year. Both have led their clubs to Champions League titles and have won in the FIFA World Cup. Both have come to Real Madrid in record transfer fees by Florentino Perez. And in the near future, there's a great possibility too that both would have worn the jersey number "5".

Yes, it would seem that Kaka is our new Zidane. Zidane led the first era of Galacticos. Kaka will lead the second era of Galacticos.

If Kaka is our new Zidane, who would be our new Ronaldo?

I'm referring to Ronaldo the Brazilian Phenomenon. Ronaldo's name will forever be linked with Zidane's. They've played against each other in a World Cup Final. They've played in Charity football matches for the United Nations. And of course, they were teammates at Real Madrid, forming perhaps the greatest duo in football history.

With the ushering of a new Galactico era, Perez has promised that other superstars would come. Hence, it's interesting to imagine who our new Ronaldo would be:

Cristiano Ronaldo

Yes - the other Ronaldo. The similarity is obvious. They have the same name, although for many, no matter how good Cristiano Ronaldo is, and would get, he would never exceed what the original Ronaldo had achieved.

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon was obsessed in bringing in the Manchester United superstar. For the past two seasons, we hear all kinds of news about C. Ronaldo coming to Madrid. It has never happened. However, it has been said (again, rumors) that a pre-contract has been made between the club and the player and that breaching it would be quite expensive for either party. Nevertheless, current president Perez has admitted that he is interested in C. Ronaldo. And Perez's words are more reliable than Calderon's. With all these, there is indeed a good chance that C. Ronaldo will be our new Ronaldo.

David Villa

Ronaldo was a world class striker. Hence, it is only fair that our new Ronaldo might also be a world class striker. This is where Spanish sensation David Villa's name comes in. Villa has proven to be an elite goal scorer - both in the La Liga and in the international scene, becoming Spain's primary striker.

Villa's current club, Valencia, is in financial trouble, and is willing to sell some of their stars. Perez, on the other hand, considers Villa as a target. I personally believe that Real Madrid need a goal scorer like Villa, and at least he makes the club more "Spanish". I'm pretty sure that Villa will even be more successful if he ever comes to Madrid and be our next Ronaldo.

Franck Ribery

Zidane is French while Ronaldo is Brazilian. Since Kaka, our new Zidane, is Brazilian, maybe our new Ronaldo is French. (ain't this a good analogy?) As Zidane has said, Franck Ribery is the jewel of French football. As a close adviser of Perez, I'm sure Zidane has endorsed his compatriot to his boss.

Ribery is known for his pace, skill and precise passing. The Bayern Munich star is someone who would definitely complement Kaka in the midfield. His club is willing to sell and Real Madrid, in turn, has expressed interest. However, it is reported that there is a lot of competition from other big clubs. At any rate, Perez seems to do the impossible in attracting world class talent to the Bernabeu.

Conclusion

All three are worthy of being the next Ronaldo. And any of them coming to Madrid will be great. If I were to pick one, who would I choose? hmmm.... let's see... I've heard Perez has prepare a 300 M Euro "war chest" to spend on signings. Hence, I'd say why not all three? (I might sound crazy, but that's the point of this blog!) After all we are building a new Galactico era. Come to think of it, Cristiano Ronaldo could be our new David Beckham (similar in terms of popularity, celebrity stature, looks, tons of endorsements, and both wore jersey number "7" at Manchester United); David Villa could be our younger version of Raul (both have been Spanish first strikers with jersey number "7"); and Franck Ribery can be this era's Luis Figo (both have the ability to play both sides of the midfield). This would form an unstoppable attack unit - Ribery, Kaka, and C. Ronaldo in the midfield with Villa up front, much like the first Galactico era. Finally, it's funny to think, if we go on in signing all three based on this, we would be left without the new Ronaldo!

The Dawning of A New Galactico Era

Florentino Perez is known for constructing the Real Madrid Galacticos years ago - bringing in football superstars Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, David Beckham, and Michael Owen.



Now he is back as the new Club President. And he intends to rebuild the Galacticos. He believes that Real Madrid should have a team superstars. It may cost much, but the project is self-sustaining. The club earns more from attendance, jersey sales and other merchandise. And the most important thing is creative football would be back in the Bernabeu.





The first thing Perez did was to hire former Real Madrid Galactico Zinedine Zidane as adviser. He then got a new manager that would fit his plans. He has brought in Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, who did an excellent job with his former club Villareal. It is interesting how he would fare with a better group of football players at Real Madrid.

Just a few hours ago, the dream has become a reality. It has become official - the first Galactico superstar has arrived. This was posted in the Real Madrid official website:


"Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, Kaka, is a Real Madrid player after an agreement was reached with AC Milan. The Brazilian footballer has now successfully passed all medical tests. Kaka has signed a contract with Real Madrid for the next six seasons."


Yup. That's right, the former Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year is now a Madridista. He's our new Zidane, and will most likely wear the latter's number "5" jersey, after Fabio Cannavaro, who previously worn it, has left the club. According to reports, Kaka will earn €9,120,000 a year with Real Madrid. Right now I'm not sure of the exact figure of the transfer fee - but I'm quite certain that it will be around the €65M amount which could rival Zidane's record transfer fee.

With our new Zidane on board, it's now time to find our new Ronaldo.