Transfers - Gossip Shop: Man City in for Raul

Eurosport - Fri, 08 May 18:44:00 2009

Ever since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed rocked up at Eastlands and showered Manchester City with his riches, the list of names linked with the club has grown and grown.

FOOTBALL Raul Makes Fingers Like Arsh - 0

Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, David Villa, Thierry Henry, Gianluigi Buffon, Roque Santa Cruz and Samuel Eto'o are just a handful of the fanciful links made with the club.

However, the reports in Spanish rag Marca that City have offered over £35 million for Real Madrid captain Raul make talk of bringing in any of those other names almost credible.

Real's legendary skipper - a term which in this case is not excessive, as this season he became the club's all-time leading goalscorer - has apparently been recommended to the club by Robinho.

On the surface, this story is utterly ridiculous. In fact, on any level this story is ridiculous. The only straw to cling on to with this one is that Raul is under contract until 2010, by which time he will be 34, and Real have a history of totally discarding their talismanic captains after years of loyal service. How do you think Fernando Hierro ended up at Bolton?

While most people in Spain have moved on from TomHenningOvrebogate , as nobody is calling it, the British back pages are still chock full of it, with almost every paper in agreement that Didier Drogba 's behaviour has sealed his path out of Stamford Bridge, although nobody seems to have much of an idea as to where he will go yet.

A team not in European competition, presumably, given the hefty UEFA ban set to land on his lap next week.

Aside from all matters Chelsea, there isn't much space left for the half-truths and outright lies that this page so relishes.

The Sun reports that friends of Alan Shearer believe he will stay on as Newcastle manager next season, even if they go down.

There aren't any actual words from said friends, just lots of talk of discipline, whips being cracked and bits between teeth, so make of that what you will.

Still at Newcastle, and here's what Bolton boss Gary Megson has to say about Toon midfielder Joey Barton: "We had an interest for him in January. There are obviously issues but he does play football for somebody else so we need to respect that. We can't talk about other people's players."

If you are a Sun reader, then that means Megson will resume his interest in Barton this summer. However, if it's the Express that you scour while making tutting noises over your muesli in the morning, then Bolton are ruling themselves out of the running for the player.

Finally, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez insists that Javier Mascherano will not be leaving the club in the summer, despite the midfielder stating that he may do just that.

Rafa said: "I talked it over with him and I don't think he wants to leave. He knows his best option is to be here."

Eurosport

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  1. diego to juventus, end

    From miecio1990, on Thu 14 May 7:03PM

  2. bojan to manchester united
    diego to juventus
    daniel de­ rossi to manchester city
    adebayor to ac milan
    drogba to­ real madrid
    berbatov to real madrid

    From prabhat_gurung, on Sun 10 May 11:29AM

  3. bojan to manchester united
    diego to juventus
    daniel de­ rossi to manchester city
    adebayor to ac milan
    drogba to­ real madrid
    berbatov to real madrid

    From prabhat_gurung, on Sun 10 May 11:28AM

  4. any player with the smallest hint of a household name.

    From ian l, on Sat 9 May 4:34PM

  5. I'm a united fan, though I do have respect for man­ city. If i wer hughes, i'd get the formation­ sorted, so as to go to the best players strengths, in­ that find a formation that gets the best out of robinho­ and ireland, as they are magical players. Then using­ that system buy decent players for good prices, that­ fit his formation well and have already played in the­ Premier League, so you don't have to waste time­ with players who need time to fit in with the style and­ formation of city and the pace of the premier league. I­ personally believe that Raul should not leave for City,­ as City would have to play two box to box men (if­ robinho were to play alongside Raul), which­ wouldn't work. I would sign a new defence aside­ from richards and given, and have fun signing a proper­ striker (with Bellamy on the bench(not Santa Cruz, as­ he needs good crosses in from the wing, which I think­ contradicts City's direct, counter attacking play)­ and most importantly keep Mark Hughes as manager, even­ if City linger just above the drop-zone keep­ him.

    Tommorows game? United will win. We've got­ more quality, and coming off the back of a 3-1­ Champions League win vs Arsenal, we'll be full of­ confidence though we'll be in for a tough game. All­ credits to city, but COME ON MAN UTD!

    From alextheodossiadis, on Sat 9 May 4:21PM

  6. It makes me laugh, Man Scum fan complain about the­ amount of money that City spend, but where were these­ same fans when the Scum were spending 30 million on­ roney and ferdinand, now that the tables are turned­ they dont like it, as a matter of fact this weekend the­ cost of the teams are approx Man Scum 130 million and­ Man City 90 Million,
    Come on you blues

    From stevetheblue1967, on Sat 9 May 11:47AM

  7. I KNOW MAN CITY HAVE LOADS OF MONEY BUT WHY RAUL OUT­ ALL PEOPLE HE WOULD NOT WANT TO COME TO A RUBBISH TEAM­ + I AM A UNITED SUPPORTER AND WE WILL SQUASH THE INTO­ THE GROUND MAN UTD 2-1 MAN CITY

    From TR, on Sat 9 May 8:42AM

  8. For Liverpool, David Villa and David Siva
    ­ OR
    Marek Hamsik and Lavezzi
    OR
    Alvaro­ Negredo and Bafetimbi Gomis!!
    RAFA PLEASE MAKE A WISE­ CHOICE BECAUSE OTHER LEAGUES ARE SLOW THAN PREMIER­ LEAGUE, SO BUY PLAYERS LIKE FT, who very quickly got­ adjusted to PREMIER LEAGUE!!!
    YNWA! LFC TILL I DIE!

    From Chetan, on Sat 9 May 6:30AM

  9. I am not a Chelsea fan, but having heard Africa born­ players speaking English, I have come to the conclusion­ that the groundskeeper at Stanford Bridge should be­ admonished or suspended. What Mr. Drogba uttered is:­ "the fu@#$ing this grass" Though I would not­ recommend that explanation to the UEFA disciplinary­ board!

    From Carl D, on Sat 9 May 3:24AM

  10. City will always have more Local based supporters than­ United because the whole of Lancashire hates the red­ satans
    Enjoy Ronaldo while you can cos Fergie's­ already put in an offer for his replacement based on­ the money he's getting from Real Madrid for him -­ and why's that? because your owners have you in­ debt to the hilt whilst City's owners could buy­ your team for kicks if they wanted
    It's been 35­ years since United were in their natural place in the­ league - well below city and never remembering a derby­ game they won - well that time's coming buster - it­ may take a year or two - depends on how long the owners­ put up with a totally inept ex-red as a manager.­ He's fine in a mid-table club but hasn't got­ it. What the **** he bought Bellamy for heaven knows -­ it's the defence that leaks and the fact that­ Captain is a great tackler makes him overlook that 90%­ of his clearances go to the rival team - it's time­ to buy someone serious to play with Micah Richards -­ Dunne isn't up to the big time - maybe Real Madrid­ want him :)
    Go Liverpool and Go Barca !!

    From adrian w, on Sat 9 May 2:07AM

  11. City will always have more Local based supporters than­ United because the whole of Lancashire hates the red­ satans
    Enjoy Ronaldo while you can cos Fergie's­ already put in an offer for his replacement based on­ the money he's getting from Real Madrid for him -­ and why's that? because your owners have you in­ debt to the hilt whilst City's owners could buy­ your team for kicks if they wanted
    It's been 35­ years since United were where in their natural place in­ the league - well below city and never remembering a­ derby game they won - well that time's coming­ buster - it may take a year or two - depends on how­ long the owners put up with a totally inept ex-red as a­ manager. He's fine in a mid-table club but­ hasn't got it. What the **** he bought Bellamy for­ heaven knows - it's the defence that leaks and the­ fact that Captain is a great tackler makes him overlook­ that 90% of his clearances go to the rival team -­ it's time to buy someone serious to play with Micah­ Richards - Dunne isn't up to the big time - maybe­ Real Madrid want him :)
    Go Liverpool and Go Barca !!

    From adrian w, on Sat 9 May 2:06AM

  12. raul will never leave real

    From , on Sat 9 May 1:32AM

  13. city fans loyal, my arse. you've got a man u legend­ running your club and your all right behind him you­ two-faced @#$%s. happy when your winning and a lynch­ mob when your not. just like every other club in the­ world so get real and stop talking out of your @#$%

    From N, on Sat 9 May 12:25AM

  14. raul, i don't think so. with the money city have­ available now, they'll probably try get kaka or­ messi if utd don't get there first if reports are­ to be believed. they should be after the likes of­ ribery and walcot or even arjen robben or van persie,­ these are the players with a lot left in them not raul­ who's got maybe 1 or 2 good seasons and thats it. i­ mean if their going for people like that why not ask­ pele to come out of retirement

    From N, on Sat 9 May 12:05AM

  15. THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAN UTD AND MAN CITY­ FANS MAN CITY ARE LOYAL SUPPORTERS WHO HAVE BEEN THREW­ ALL DIFFERENT LEAGUES IMAGINE IF THAT HAPPEND TO MAN­ UTD THEY WOULD OF DESERTED THEM LOL COME ON UTD FANS­ YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK ABOUT US

    From steven, on Fri 8 May 11:44PM

  16. do you know im sick of listening to all united fans­ complaining about man city being rich and that we go­ for the likes of kaka and co but what that dont realise­ is that they spent 30 mill plus on berbatov they want­ to keep tevez at 35 mill and naw there going for or­ they want kaka and ribery at a cost they cant afford­ ALL BECAUSE THERE HAVING MONEY TROUBLES come on united­ fans you are a good team you do win things you are in­ europe and yes you may win them both titles just leave­ us CITY fans alone we are @#$% and we may not be in the­ same brackets as you lot but it will all come gd for us­ in years to come

    From steven, on Fri 8 May 11:21PM

  17. City would be crazy to go for Raul. He is a spent­ force. Did nobody watch him against Liverpool in the­ Champions league. He was Rubbish. He would only be­ coming to City for the Big wages so he could wind down­ his playing days. Just like Ballack & Deco at­ Chelsea. There is much better tallent out there at Half­ the money Madrid would want for him. Dont turn yourself­ into a nice retirment club for has been star's.­ Thats copming froma Utd Fan.

    From andyprice17, on Fri 8 May 11:06PM

  18. To Bob and all the other City fans

    When ever your­ players can score like our Diver..... the goal against­ Porto and also Arsenal.......then we will pay­ attention.

    Till then, when did you last win anything? ­ If you paid more attention to your own team's­ shortcomings... then...... you might begin to move­ forward.

    Not as if you're short of money­ !!

    Michael Ex M/cr Who cares that were in­ Stretford ? We just keep winning !!

    From Michael J, on Fri 8 May 9:09PM

  19. Hey Bob dennis laws back heel dint send us down ya thud­ we woulda gonna down anyway seems to me that since then­ we have a slight advantage over u that being ur @#$% n­ all u blue scum talk about is man u talk about ur own­ shower of @#$% UEFA cup....ya havin a laugh.

    From Lee, on Fri 8 May 8:47PM

  20. I think Man City should buy defenders first then go 4­ big names ...

    From elnino, on Fri 8 May 8:00PM
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