MADRID (AFP) - Valencia striker David Villa, one of the stars of Spain's victorious Euro 2008 squad, has signed for Real Madrid for close to 40 million euros, a Spanish newspaper said Saturday.
Marca, citing sources at Real Madrid and Valencia, said both clubs were hammering out the fine details of the deal before officially announcing the transfer.
If confirmed, Villa would become the third big name to join the club under new president Florentino Perez, after Brazilian playmaker Kaka and Portuguese winger Ronaldo from AC Milan and Manchester United respectively.
Perez has established a 200-million-euro war chest for players, vowing to create a "spectacular team" capable of overtaking arch-rivals Barcelona next season.
The top scorer at Euro 2008, the 27-year-old Villa scored 28 goals in the Spanish championship this season.
But Valencia is reportedly ready to sell some of its top stars in a bid to ease its financial difficulties.
Perez returned as president of Real on June 1.
During his first stint, from 2000 to 2006, he oversaw the era of the "Galacticos" when world stars such as Zidane, England's David Beckham and Brazil's Ronaldo were attracted to the club.


AFP/Diego Tusonview photo

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REAL IS MY TEAM & I LUV IT SO MUCH BUT THEY WILL BE MAKING SAME MISTICK TWICE IT TAKE BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN THEY FIGO, ROLANDO,ZZ AND OTHERS THAT SEASON @ FRIST WAS BAD,GETTIN NEW PLAYERS IS GOOD BUT THEY NEED THE OLD ONES THE MOST LIKE OUR PEOPLE SAY'S THE NEW BROOM SWEEPS WELL BUT IT'S THE OLD ONE THAT KNOWS THE CORNERS OF THE HOUSE,PLS IF REAL IS SELLING IT SUOULD BE HANZ,RUAL,SARGIDO AND MAYBE GUTI,PLS REAL DON'T LET GO SNEIJDER,HIGUAIN,LASS, M.DIARRA,SERGIO,PEPE,ROBBEN & EDWARD MOST OF ALL THE WORLD BEST GOAL KEEPER GARCIA CUZ WITH OUT HIM REAL IS DEAD.
defence must stonger sergio ramos and marcelo cant play alone
its true .barca have made a brilliant team threw hard work and talent from the players and the manager . real are the epitomeof all that is wrong with the game . personaly i cant wait to see the most expensive failure in footballing history .
@s.kling7- Unfortunately it's true,I agree with you 100% although i love REAL M. but it's just not good to have so many star players the most important thing is that they work together,TEAM WORK it's the most important thing but I am afraid that's not gonna happen and it's not so interesting if they buy ALL of them(best players) because then there will be no competitions REAL will win EVERYTHING It's not fair to other clubs.I wonder how is this gonna work out i hope it's gonna be ok :) If i were Perez than i would but just a few players and they doesn't have to be the BEST like maybe for example: DAVID SILVA, DAVID VILLA, NEMANJA VIDIC, GIORGIO CHIELLINI(or maybe LAHM even better ) and DIEGO RIBAS .These are great players but still not the best that's the point,they just need to fill out some positions like LB and CF... And of course they should keep players like:SERGIO RAMOS,PEPE,CASILLAS,WESLEY SNEIJDER, ARJEN ROBBEN,LASSANA DIARRA,GAGO, KLAAS JAN HUNTELAAR AND HIGUAIN and maybe some youngsters to train them more like:JAVI GARCIA,MARCELO,DRENTHE AND DANIEL PAREJO .
why they havent signed a top defender yet is beyond me
Real can spend all the money they want, but it does not mean that the players are going to play well together. Too many big egos.
ok all you madrird haters out their just wait for florentino finishes buying players and wait till the end of the 2009/2010 season before you make anymore ignorent comments about plays,money & about real madrid
money ... head coach .... players play in harmony
i believe that in order to have a superpower team you have to consider all those factors with the same magnitude
if real madrid now has the money ... good coach (not a genius) a nice players but i doubt they will play in harmony .... i do not think they will be a superb team
what makes barca won the treble is that they r a complete team with a talented coach .... barca did not spend a lot of money last summer .... but they spent it appropriatly ..... real madrid now is spending money .... but not to build a complete team
F Perez won 2 la liga titles (2001 & 2003) one champions league (2002) .... then nothing from 2004 till 2006 !!!! with all his superb team
the idea of a team full of stars did not work .... and it'll never do !!
ASTON VILLA WOULD BE A GOOD BUY.
why when ever i say some fact all of the people write nagetive comment about me?
any way i'll keep writting alot of facts.
guys plz don't bother me!
piece of information about football,
football world is like ocean where big fishes eat the small once
now real madrid is the whale and shark which eat all the other fishes(clubs)
belive me no one will survive against the big whale and sharks known as Perez, Valdano, Peligrene and Zidane
there alot of clubs we didn't knock their doors wait we are coming and you'll give like united with ronaldo or milan with kaka
we will take who ever we want and remaimber money is not the only case.
kaka refuse man city for 100 mil bid and(18 mil salary) and chelsea for 75 mil bid and (12 mil salary) but accept real for 65 mil and (9 mil salary)
i know most of you are so jeoleus but that doesn't make any good, the best thing you can do is to live in madrid or to see this stars everyday or watch la liga and live longer or die with heartAttack caused by jeoleusy!
getachew44, you wont get vidic, he has sense unlike ronaldo and he knows where to play the world class football, at old trafford. you may have ronaldo kaka and villa but if they dont work together youll have put 170 million down the drain, next year ronaldo will be begging at sir alex fergusons feet when hell have gone an entire season without silverware for the first time in 3 years. And also, all you madrid fans are always complaining about the money we spend, so where did you pull 170 mill out from then?
the name of the article is real madrid swoop for villa.
And florentino has won 2 champions leagues a world club cup a couple of spanish super cups and european super cups and a few la liga titles in the past so to say he hasn't acheived anything is just an ignorent comment to make plus he hasn't even finished buying players its only june he's got ages to finish buying all the players he wants to buy.
Also that comment about how chelsea spent alot of money and money does't make a team well if you buy the right players it does cause madrid proved you can spend alot and still win major titles i.e champions league, the world club cup & la liga its just chelsea did't buy the right players but they still won the prem'ship & fa cup a few times and other titles so money does help you win titles.
according to any, to any ! sources of the whole neutral world, real is nowhere. Sadly with those riddiculous amount of money they have slaved 2 great player, (no I did't forgot, that one of those is among the premiere- benders of the universe) and they will probably have more. And yeah surely, real madrid is the richest club of the world. But guess what - which teams name is on the shield of a new topic on this paper said "Is ... killing football?" the 1 mill. pound question? - doesn't want an answer.
Anyway, get44 I give you an advise - unusual for a madridista- , for FREE, don't you beat your chest like some Presidents of the US echoing your 'power', because you have achieved nothing, I repeat nothing yet, just got some big and more bigger names.
Real should sign sissoko 4rm porto and hullk they are 2 good players. I think they will help the team. My name is henry alias ronaldo
under mason, premier league teams have lost the cl 4 times in last 6 yrs, you can have your teams in the final every yr, whats the point when they will always loose, real madrid will be dominant force for next few yrs, already got kaka, ronaldo, and now villa soon, then hopefully ribery and then a few good defenders and we shoudl be set, geatachew44 is spot on with his comments
What ever they do they MUST keep Wesley Sneijder he is a fantastic player,If C. Ronaldo and Kaka hadn't come to REAL MADRID Sneijder would still have been the best MIDFIELDER,but ok now if they can just keep him it will be perfect
What ever they do they MUST keep Wesley Sneijder he is a fantastic player,If C. Ronaldo and Kaka hadn't come to REAL MADRID Sneijder would still have been the best MIDFIELDER,but ok now if they can just keep him it will be perfect
gel is spelt with one l
gel is spelt with one l
getachew44 have you lost some brain cells in your moment of madness how can Real Madrid be the best and also La Liga? Manchester United/Chelsea/Liverpool have dominated England and Europe last year and apart from europe this year United have still been the top team just because Real Madrid are spending a lot of money on big money signings now doesnt mean that they are the best they have to prove they are also the team needs to gell together, The best team around are Barcelona at the moment the way they dominated Domestically and in europe was unbelievable. Chelsea have spent millions on there quest for Europe and have still not won it Money doesnt make football a team does.
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