Saturday, July 5, 2008

Real Madrid, Barcelona In The Hunt For Drogba


As the transfer wheels turn, new and exciting scenarios continue to unfold. With Barcelona seeming to fade in the race to sign Russian phenom Andrei Arshavin (probably bound for Stamford Bridge), they are now in the hunt for Chelsea's Didier Drogba. But wait, their arch rivals Real Madrid have alreadt been courting the Ivory Coast international and appear to have the upper hand thus far. Barcelona has already spent €77 million on transfers for the 2008/09 season and may be near their limit.

That said, Drogba is a personal friend of Barça's Sammy Eto'o and the club has deep financial reserves so its too early to count rhe Blaugrana out of the running. The club was also in the running for Arsenal's 25-year-old striker Emmanuel Adebayor, but the Gunners' price tag for him is identical to Drogba's (but whose proven abilities are not nearly the same). With 80 goals in four seasons at Chelsea (which has him under contract though 2010) and an estimated price tag of €45 million, only the biggest clubs will be in a position to bid for Drogba.

There was much speculation that the 30-year-old Drogba was heading to Inter Milan, where he would be reunited with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho but the recent Spanish interest appears to have changed the game. Last week Drogba's agent, Pierre Frelot, stated that a move to Spain could be an attractive proposition. Expect the bidding war to be fierce.

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