ARRIVEDERCI DIEGO FORLAN - THANKYOU!

The 32 year old Uruguayan International DIEGO FORLAN has said officially goodbye to SPANISH FOOTBALL & to all the ATLETICO DE MADRID fans in a Press Conference this afternoon. The player is on the verge of shutting the final details with Italian Club INTER MILAN. As an Atletico de Madrid fan & follower I can only give publicly my sincere thanks to Forlan for the services given to the Club during his stay:

• 96 goals in 198 official games
• European Golden boot 2009 - 2010 with 32 goals
• Europa League Champion 2010 
• European Super Cup 2010

Thank Diego, wish you all the luck in the World at Inter Milan.

Diego Forlan 

However, once again the Atletico de Madrid Club Directives & their negotiating skills continue to baffle - at least me. The player was sold to INTER MILAN for only 5M€ - yes, there is no typing error - & the Club will give that money directly to Diego Forlan because the Club owns Forlan 5M€ in salary payments. Therefore, Inter gets Diego Forlan for ZERO cost, & Atletico just watches as a valuable asset flys away. I have my own personal reasons that may make sense of this non - business action, but have no proof, thus will not comment, but you have to say after witnessing the outrageous 40M€ (+7M€) Falcao operation & now witnessing the Forlan transfer that Atletico - the Club - is a busniess "anomaly".


The man about to substitute Forlan is young Portuguese 21 year winger/forward PIZZI from SPORTING DE BRAGA. Here too are "unexplained" transfer - signing questions, but if he can score goals why dig in the dirt.

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ATLETICO DE MADRID | DIEGO FORLAN LOOKS INTER MILAN BOUND WHILE THE DIEGO OPTION COMES TO LIFE AGAIN

ATLETICO DE MADRID has excluded this morning from the squad that will be travelling to Portugal for their 2º leg Europa League preliminary game against Vitoria Guimaraes forward DIEGO FORLAN at personal request. The Uruguayan International is negotiating with INTER MILAN at this moment his transfer, which suggests that it could be made official in the next hours.

Diego Forlan

Staying with ATLETICO DE MADRID & with transfers, the father of Brazilian & WOLFSBURG midfielder DIEGO RIBA was seen & caught by journalists outside the "Vicent Calderon Staduim" offices last night. There Mr. Ribas was asked about his son & he answered that Atletico de Madrid & Diego had an agreement & it was now up to the Clubs to negotiate.

The only hurdle is that Atletico desires the player on loan with a buying option at the end of the season, while Turkish Club Galatasaray has made a formal buying offer to Wolfsburg which is much more attractive. The advantage that the Spanish Club has over the Turks is that the player has said NO to Galatasary & wishes to play at Atletico.

Stay tuned!

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ATLETICO DE MADRID | FALCAO - DIEGO FORLAN - OSVALDO | THE DOMINO THEORY

Things are "speeding" up on the transfer front as the 31st of August ( & Europa /Champions League inscriptions) deadline nears for Spanish Football Clubs. One of those, ATLETICO DE MADRID, has an ambitious plan: to sign two star forwards to replace Sergio Aguero & Diego Forlan. More on the last latter on.

Falcao

The first priority is Colombian International & OPORTO forward FALCAO. This operation has been a tough one with Oporto knowing well that Atletico has just received a healthy flow of cash. There has been various options & formulas for buying; spliting payments, variables & players etc, but it looks as if it will be a payment in parts & hefty (38M€). The key however was the players public comments this weekend saying that he would "love" to go to Atletico because its a fabulous career opportunity, important piece as it releases pressures off the Club with its fan-base. Apparently there is agreement between Clubs & they are discussing payment methods today before making things official: apparently.

Osvaldo

But Atletico wish to go all out up front. The second signing could be ESPANYOL forward OSVALDO to join upfront in the attack FALCAO. The Espanyol player has a juicy offer from AC Roma, but according to Spanish Sports paper "AS" Atletico & Espanyol bosses have already met to shut things & the operation would be 20M€ ( 16M€ cash plus 4 in variables). Plus Osvaldo has an "agreement" with Atletico which just needs the Clubs to only OK things.

So great. What about DIEGO FORLAN?

Here is the key. Atletico de Madrid has to sell first Forlan so as to sign Osvaldo, this may delay this last operation. The other player in this chess game is "INTER MILAN" who are about to lose Samuel Eto´o to Russian Football. The Italians wish to substitute Eto´o with Forlan - & here is another key - to which the Uruguayan has said that he would see well going to Inter Milan.


So, interesting couple of hours & days ahead at Atletico de Madrid as everyone awaits the fall of the first domino to set off the chain reaction of events. That is, first Falcao, then Eto´o, followed by Forlan & lastly Osvaldo.

Stay tuned!

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TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS HAS NOT FORGOTTEN DIEGO FORLAN

DIEGO FORLAN would not mind staying at ATLETICO DE MADRID another season, especially after Coach Quique Sanchez Flores has disappeared from the Club. However Atletico de Madrid thinks differently & wishes to take the opportunity & get into their bank account some desperately needed fresh funds. The Club already agreed to sell Forlan to Turkish Club Galatasaray, but Forlan gave a NO which has put a "torpedo" in that operation. 

Diego Forlan

Today the news in from Spanish Sports paper "AS" is that English Premier League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS has come back in the picture & is negotiating with Atletico de Madrid for the transfer of the Uruguayan striker. The speculated offfer is around 10M€ which is not too bad & a figure that Atletico would likely see as acceptable. The feeling is that Forlan would perfer English Football ( played with Manchester United in the past ) to Turkish Football if he did decide to leave Spanish Football.

Stay tuned!


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TRANSFER RUMOUR | ATLETICO DE MADRID - GALATASARAY JOINT TURKISH BATH

This one is definately a good one. In mean you won´t see a more impacting & more viciously viral "Football Transfer Rumour" than this one for a long time.

From Turkey,  via its media (eg NTVSPOR), Turkish Club GALATASARAY has come to an agreement with Spanish Football Club ATLETICO DE MADRID to sign DIEGO FORLAN, UJFALUSI & ANTONIO REYES. The sum tranfer - all three players - money figure is unknown but the news is "fair-dinkum" as we can see from the below Turkish web site. Is it Turkish Fools day ? Obviously this "surprise" has been picked up locally by Spanish Press & quiet frankly I personally don´t know what to make of it.

Turkish website

According to the Turkish source Galatasaray Club President Unal Aysal meet today with Atletico de Madrid directives & "shut" the package deal. Now my first reaction is to wait & see if this has actually happened,  & at best,  if its true at all. No announcement has been made from the Spanish Football Club & no one has been informed here in the media of the money involved.


However, Football is Football & anything can happen, especially with a Club like Atletico de Madrid  . If it does finally turn out to be all true & Forlan, Ujfalusi & Reyes do leave the Spanish Club, they will join the almost certain exit of goalkeeper David De Gea ( to Manchester United) & Sergio Aguero ( to ? ). Atletico de Madrid will look next season like the below image of a sinking ship.

My head says wait & see as you have seen many stories & heard many "vicious" rumours during many years. My heart,  as an Atletico fan,  says WTF is going on & frankly I am baffled with this story.

Stay tuned!


LATEST: Apparently there is some truth. Galatasaray has expressed to Atletico de Madrid today in Madrid via Turkish Club President their desires to sign all three players. The money figure is said to be around 40M€ & I imagen the players involved will have there say if the Club sees this as positive. Stay tuned!

VERY LATEST : Diego Forlan does wish to leave ( yet ) Atletico,  & with Reyes the Spanish Club does not wish to let the palyer go.

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ATLETICO DE MADRID PLAYER DIEGO FORLAN COURTING BOTH BESIKTAS - TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS ?

The Spanish daily Sports papers have picked up the news from Turkey, concretely from TV Channel NTV, that Turkish Club BESIKTAS has a pre-agreement with ATLETICO DE MADRID Uruguayan forward DIEGO FORLAN. The original source goes on further to say that Atletico de Madrid is also in accord & that the player may even sign his new contract next week.


However, today the agent of Forlan, Daniel Bolotnikoff, denied the news coming out from Turkey & said that there is no agreement at all. This coincides with news from England via local paper “The Sun” that TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS is also trying to lure the player towards London.

Diego Forlan 

With these stories, I can only deduce that the player is playing with both Clubs at this moment & will go to the best bidder. Tottenham & Diego Forlan has been “flitering” with each other for months, & Turkish Club Besiktas has been tempting the Uruguayan for the last months as well. Diego Forlan was caught by TV cameras asking ex-Coach of Besiktas Bernd Schuster how Turkey & the Club was like last week in a charity get together.


The above also explains the fall-out & dressing room problems that Diego Forlan has had with Atletico Coach Sanchez Flores. Although the latter has not said so explicitly, the Coach has left Forlan on the bench due to a “non-commitment” attitude with his team. Said differently,  that player has his head everywhere except at Atletico de Madrid were he has been attempting to “get out” all season. Let’s not forget that Forlan offered himself to Real Madrid during the “Winter Transfer” window.


So stay tuned, I would bet that Diego Forlan will end up signing with the Club that best conditions can offer, although Besiktas has ex-team-mate Simao & Spanish ex-Real Madrid player Guti which may tip the balance in helping to settle in quicker in a new place. But said this, Forlan is familiar with English life …

LATEST - Forlan seems to now want to stay at Atletico  Man does know what he wants.
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ATLETICO DE MADRID | SERGIO AGUERO | PINOCCHIO

The message was directly aimed at the ATLETICO DE MADRID members &amp the fan base; a multitude who are very angry with the Clubs Directives & with some players who are not thinking in the Club but more about their future. Added to this the team has entered a downward spiral course that is putting in threat the only objective left of this season: to finish in the Champions League classification places on the ladder.

Last night Atletico de Madrid President Enrique Cerezo & CEO Miguel Marin Gil ( the owner & the real power at the Club) went on national Spanish radio on a big ranking Spanish Football late-night programme to be interviewed & to discuss the future of Atletico.


However, the interesting piece of the whole interview was this gem from CEO Marin Gil when asked about rumours & offers from Real Madrid for star forward Sergio Aguero:

"...Agüero no va a ir al Real Madrid...porque el jugador no quiere irse y porque el Atlético no se lo va a permitir".


Translated:"... Aguero will not go to Real Madrid...because the player does not want to & because Atletico will not permit it".

The Atletico members & the fan base may now sleep better after this statement, but I think they are - we all are - much more wiser, with lots of years experience with similiar heard statements & have too much knowledge that Football is short term, Club owners "distort" ( & this particular owner has a history) & players end up doing what they want to in the end.

I don´t know if Sergio Aguero will go to Real Madrid or not, that much I do give "credit" to the statement. What I do suspect ( & seriously) is that if Atletico do not finish the season in Champions League positions ( very difficult at this point), Sergio Aguero will not stay around for too long...& Diego Forlan? His already gone.

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DIEGO FORLAN CLAIMS REAL MADRID MADE AN OFFER | I DON´T BELIEVE IT

ATLETICO DE MADRID Uruguayan forward DIEGO FORLAN has said to Spanish media today that REAL MADRID contacted his Club early in the week - concretely Director General ( in fact the real owner of Atletico de Madrid) Angel Gil Marin - to make an offer & attempt to sign the player. Forlan added that Atletico refused the offer & said that he was not for sale.  


BULLSHIT . This is my personal statement & the rest that follows is solely my personal opinion.

Diego Forlan

As mentioned here on Spanish Football Sports Blog , as a footnote & a last minute news flash in a post that highlighted that Real Madrid was about to sign Manchester City forward Abebayor, it was DIEGO FORLAN who offered himself to REAL MADRID & not how he has expressed today. The news flash came out of Spanish TV channel "Intereconomia" via its late night Football show were journalists claim that sources very close to the player & inside Real Madrid confirm that Forlan offered himself unilaterally.

However, lets go a few steps back to see how credibility is very short at Atletico de Madrid. Club Director Angel Gil claimed that Real Madrid made a 45M€ offer for SERGIO AGUERO that he refused, that was latter put in doubt when Atletico President Cerezo said he knew nothing about it & was backed by a statement from Real Madrid that they did not make the said offer for Aguero. If Mr Gil Marin is correct he must have received TWO offers, right? Why did he only mention Kun Aguero?

It is not the first time or the last time that Gil Marin "distorts" things in order to calm the fan & membership base. He "sold" the idea that he saved the Club not allowing Aguero to go to the rival camp. While Forlan today attempts to "save his skin" from the fans anger in discovering that he offered himself to Real Madrid when in fact it was the other way around.

A lot of Atletico de Madrid fans - myself included - are getting tired of the moaning & whining of Diego Forlan who has wished & desired to leave Atletico Madrid since last season. No one doubts that next season the player will be sold & that possibly Aguero will in fact go to Real Madrid, but what you cannot do is to think ( Forlan ) that Atletico fans & members are stupid.

Atletico de Madrid is being run by people who don't know how to manage the Club.  Firstly they sell Jurado to Schalke 04 leaving the Club deficit in midfield, then the Club mysteriously sells Simao ( President Cerezo said he did not know why) to Besiktas without negotiating a contract renewal & the Club then signs defensive midfielders when they need creative attacking midfielders. Coach Quique Sanchez Flores is  not being listened to & no one takes his views into consideration.

What the Club does not need now are "doubtful stories" to win over the fans & members & create a smoke-screen to hide incompetent Club management, the disloyalty of an important player to the Club & poor onfield performances.  Tweet

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REAL MADRID RECONSIDER EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR OF MANCHESTER CITY

News being published on the mayor Spanish Sports online channels tonight indicate that REAL MADRID will now attempt to get over to Madrid MANCHESTER CITY 26 year old forward EMMANUEL ABEBAYOR. The negative posture from German Club Hamburg in accepting the 2M€ ( + a friendly match) offer for Ruud Van Nistelrooy has forced the Spanish Club to go back on its tracks & consider again the Togo player.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Manchester City are apparently receptive to offers & will consider a loan as they have recently signed forward DZEKO & thus Adebayor hasn´t a place in their team. Real Madrid have been hesitant to incorporate Abebayor due to his "conflictive" character, but with Van Nistelrooy almost discarded & Manchester City willing to negotiate a loan for a player who can play Champions League,  the window of opportunity again has opened for the Manchester City player. Real Madrid Coach Mourinho insists in a forward urgently & has even made threats to the Club with leaving if he does not get support for his demands.

Lastly, the same news sources comment that if the Abebayor option fails REAL MADRID will then go for Bayern Munich 32 year old forward KLOSE. In this last case, the German would not be able to play in Champions League thus the Abebayor alternative gains in strength & attractiveness.

Stay tuned for further developments in coming days. I would not discard any option at this stage.

LATEST: According to news tonight from Spanish TV channel "Intereconomia", ATLETICO DE MADRID forward DIEGO FORLAN has offered himself personally to REAL MADRID as an alternative. 
As said, stay tuned because we have plenty of miles left to travel with this story. Tweet

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IKER CASILLAS - DIEGO FORLAN RECEIVE THEIR WORLD CUP 2010 AWARDS WITH MULLER

Spanish National Football Team International & Goalkeeper IKER CASILLAS was today awarded the “Golden Glove Award” as the “Best Goalkeeper in the World” after his impressive & decisive 2010 World Cup performance. At the same ceremony Uruguayian International Forward DIEGO FORLAN received his “Best Player of the World Cup 2010 Tournament” & German International THOMAS MULLER received his “Golden Boot Award” as the World Cup 2010 Top Goal scorer.

Muller, Forlan & Casillas . photo from "AS"

What is interesting to observe is that none of the three mentioned are candidates for the soon to be held FIFA Golden Ball Award next month. In this case the three opting for the prized title are all FC Barcelona players of which two are Spanish National Team members: Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez & the other Argentine Lionel Messi.

Forlan chats to Casillas: photo from "AS"

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CAN THIS BE TRUE - ATLETICO DE MADRID OFFERS REAL MADRID DIEGO FORLAN FOR 18M€?

For those who went to pick up the Spanish Sports daily “Marca” this morning they may have been surprised to read,  that according to the paper, ATLETICO DE MADRID has Uruguayan forward DIEGO FORLAN on sale & for the upcoming “Winter Market” next January 2011. That’s not the big surprise, the eye lifter is that the daily says that his Club has offered the player to REAL MADRID! But there is more to make the Atletico fan wonder; the price called for by Atletico is 18M€, that is half the price of his opt-out contract clause. Can we believe this news?

The facts are that the Striker hasn’t scored for months, is undergoing possibly his most serious goal dry spell which is affecting him psychologically & his relationship with Coach Quique Sanchez Flores is very cold. A couple of months back, Diego Forlan irritated Club & fans when he said to English TV that if someone came with an offer he would leave. Words that he latter explained were taken out of context due to translation reasons...mmmmm. 


Apart from the possibility of Real Madrid studying the “offer”, there are two other known Clubs that have shown real interest, they are English Premier League Club TOTTENHAM & Italian Club JUVENTUS.


I will keep an eye out on this story & see if “Marca” are using their usual Marketing “tricks”, that perhaps the players inner – circle is testing the atmosphere or it is all totally false. Stay tuned! Tweet

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IFFHS TOP WORLD GOAL SCORER RANKING SEPT 2010 | DIEGO FORLAN ON TOP

The FIFA backed “International Federation of Football History & Statistics” (IFFHS) maintains Uruguayan & ATLETICO DE MADRID forward DIEGO FORLAN as the current Top World Goal Scorer. Excellent news for the player who is candidate for this years FIFA Golden Ball which will be announce at the end of the year. Spanish International & newly signed FC Barcelona forward DAVID VILLA is currently in second place.

Below is the current Top 10 goal scorers list for September 2010:

1. Diego Forlán - (Club Atletico de Madrid / Uruguay) 13(7/6)
2. David Villa - (Valencia CF - FC Barcelona / Spain) 12(8/4)
3. Javier Hernández - (CD Guadalajara-Man Utd / Mexico) 10(10/0)
Katlego Abel Mphela - (Mamelodi Sundowns Pretoria / South Africa) 10(10/0)
5. Wesley Sneijder - (FC Internazionale Milano / Nederlands) 9(7/2)
6. Thiago Ribeiro Cardoso do Nascimento - (Cruzeiro EC Belo Horizonte / Brazil) 9(0/9)
José Roberto Rodrigues Mota Junior - (Suwon Samsong Blue-Wings / Brazil) 9 (0/9)
Javier Antonio Orozco - (CD Cruz Azul Ciudad de México / Mexico) 9(0/9)
9. Mohamed Nagy Ismael »Geddo« - (Al-Ahly Cairo / Egypt) 8(7/1)
10. Arjen Robben - (FC Bayern München / Nederlands) 8(4/4)

The goal tally is made up of goals scored for the National Team & those scored for the Club but in European competitions. Therefore in the case of Diego Forlan, for example, he has 7 goals scored for Uruguay & 6 scored for Atletico de Madrid in European competitions in 2010. Tweet

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ATLETICO DE MADRID | LONDON CALLING DIEGO FORLAN?

Source: Sp Ftball Sprts /
Most observers, including myself, are confident in thought that if a ATLETICO DE MADRID star player was to leave the Club it would more likely be Argentine International Sergio Aguero. However, how is this idea for a possible alternative: DIEGO FORLAN? News from England & its paper the “Daily Star” mentions that Premier League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS could be thinking in putting 25M€ on the Atletico de Madrid table to see if that convinces the Spanish Club.

The idea has weight when compared to the other possible departure & selling option in Sergio Aguero. Atletico de Madrid has some financial issues that need attending & 25M€ for a 31 year old player could “a priori” be a very attractive proposition. Atletico de Madrid may change their pre-season strategy & convince Sergio Aguero to stay as their Club "mast-head" by promising a solid project built around him with extra financial incentives, thus selling Forlan would be the logical choice. The other option for Tottenham is to pay the contract release clause of 36M€ but the English Club seems confident that they will not need to restore to this "dirty" action. Having said this, what if Forlan has a grand World Cup & bags lots of goals? The questions would then be what would be the new market price & what if Diego Forlan then decides to hold out for more options? Plus more importantly, the doubt arises in whether Forlan would really wish to go to Tottenham; this is another issue & another question. Long way to go on this rumour from the English press.

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VIDEO: DIEGO FORLAN TAKES OUT HIS RAGE WITH ATLETICO FANS WITH GOAL AGAINST ATH BILBAO

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /
ATLETICO DE MADRID forward DIEGO FORLAN scored the first goal in last nights 2-0 victory over Athletic de Bilbao & in doing so let out some long held "steam" towards the Atletico supporters in his post celebration.

The Uruguayan striker ran straight to the area where the more "extreme" Atletico fans congregate, faced them directly & screamed "...AND NOW WHAT!". Some media sources have gone further & have added that those words were followed with "...NOW SUCK THIS!". These last words cannot be proven & SFS will not give them credibility here at all. What is true is that the player did certainly release tension that had been building up within after fans had questioned his performances this season & he was receiving whistles.

The player later confirmed this to Spanish TV after the match with:
"Estoy dolido porque parece que la gente tiene poca memoria"
(translated: "It hurts because it seems people have little memory")
making reference to his outstanding contribution last season after gaining the European Golden Boot as the highest goal scorer in European Football. However, some at the Club, including the fans believe the player this season is "bitter" with Atletico for "stopping" in the pre-season a possible transfer offer from Real Madrid, & thus feel this is the reason for Forlan´s lower goal tally & less than 100% performances this season.

Either way, one should not take this out of context & I am sure the player is feeling better today with that release of tension & getting some words off this chest. Nothing like goals to ease the pains away. Here is the VIDEO of the goal that served to help Atletico onto victory & had a therapeutic effect:

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ATLETICO DE MADRID: 3 FORWARDS ON LIST ¿THEN WHAT ABOUT FORLAN & AGUERO?

Spanish sports daily “Marca”, which always loves to advertise “scoops” be they “correct” or not, have published that ATLETICO DE MADRID has three names in mind for the forward line next season:
. Giuseppe Rossi (Villareal)
. Klaas Jan Huntelaar (ex Real Madrid & now AC Milan)
. Roberto Soldado (Getafe)

Here we have a suspicious problem from the beginning; the high salaries that each has at there respective Clubs. This leads us to deduce the following:
(a) Atletico will need to sell
(b) If the names are forwards , either Diego Forlan or Sergio Aguero will be sold. This last point has been mentioned on various occasions here, SFS suspects that the latter will be sold at the end of this season.

Being this the case, of all the three names mentioned & the money expected to be generated from the selling of either of the two mentioned players, wouldn’t Ajax of Amsterdam forward LUIS SUAREZ be a better bet? Perhaps the mentioned player prefers bigger & “safer” places to play Football. Tweet

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WORLD CUP 2010: TWO SPANISH BASED PLAYERS (MESSI & FORLAN) CALLED TO DUTY FOR THEIR NATION

It is perhaps the most decisive & media attracting World Cup
qualifying clash for sometime; the URUGUAY vs. ARGENTINA
game. The latter is in real danger of losing & having its World Cup
participation at the mercy of a qualifying 2º leg game against
the winner of the Oceanic team, while the former could have
its direct ticket to the World Cup if they win. What is certain
that a both to either will solve must of their speculation & give
the direct ticket as the ultimate prize. Both must win!

(photo: sport.es)













Added to the excitement is that the Worlds Nº1 Football player the
Argentine & FC Barcelona star LEO MESSI is wrapped up in a bizarre
dynamic of facing the real possibility of not participating in the next
World Cup, while his National Team Coach Diego Armando Maradona
has his head on the chopping block waiting to see if the axe will fall
or not. On the other fence Atletico de Madrid star & European
Golden Boot for 2008-2009, DIEGO FORLAN, has the chance to help
finally take Uruguay back to the World stage after years of eliminations
& playing second fiddle to its powerful Football neighbour.

Big night, which will have millions, glued to their TV seats with
passions on the edge as two Spanish Liga based players play their
part in this important & transcendental Football game. SFS will be
watching! Tweet

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ATLETICO DE MADRID: THE "HIDDEN" SIGNAL IN THE FORLAN CONTRACT RENEWAL

ATLETICO DE MADRID has extended the contract with its Uruguayan
star Forward DIEGO FORLAN until 2013. This has been accompanied
with a 1,5M€ pay rise that puts his salary at around 4,5M€/year. The
Club this way rewards the “loyalty”, professionalism & great
performance from the forward after gaining the European Golden
Boot last season with 32 goals. Everyone now hopes that this boost
to his confidence will allow Forlan to find top form again & help
Atletico de Madrid get out of its disastrous start in the Spanish League
where it current has only 2 points from 4 games & is second last on
the table.

The notable thing from this renovation is that the contract “release
clause” remains at 36M€, an accessible price in today’s transfer
market which signals that the player did not wish to shut the
backdoor escape opportunity if needed. It is unwritten knowledge
that if Atletico de Madrid doesn’t live up to expectations this season
& continues with its title dry spell, that Forlan will most likely leave
the Spanish Club next season (possibly along with Aguero) to play at
a Club that can give him his last “big” chance on the European &
World stage with 32 years of age. Atletico has entered into a
“vicious-circle” of image that without titles they will not be able
to retain star players with “global” ambitions nor will they be able
attract World star players to sign for the Club.

How did they get so far?

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DAVID VILLA SAGA V: ITS A LAUGH

The DAVID VILLA situation with his Club VALENCIA CF is a mess.
His Club stopped at the last minute a move to Real Madrid - when

previously agreed - & now stops a move to FC Barcelona. Valencia
asks for a transfer figure of between 50-55M€ to be able to change

its mind & FC Barcelona hasn´t the liquid cash ( Eto´o not sold &

doesn´t look like) & will NOT go as far. Barça has announced
alternatives to Villa if the player doesn´t react, & everyone
suspects (knows) that Atletico de Madrid forward DIEGO FORLAN

is the option.

From Barcelona based paper "Mundo Deportivo" we get this

humour piece & cartoon ("Futbolitis") on the situation:

We see Valencia CF President Manuel Llorente saying in one hand
(translated),
"Villa needs tender loving care"

& on the hand he says

" plus 50M€ to us".

Stay tuned!

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REAL MADRID: DAVID VILLA OPERATION "BROKEN". DIEGO FORLAN NOW THE OPTION

The adamant agreement between VALENCIA CF & REAL MADRID for
the transfer of DAVID VILLA has gone into a dangerous standoff
according to local sporting paper “AS”. It’s natural & obvious from
the Valencia point of view that they are negotiating hard to extract
the maximum possible transfer figure from Real Madrid who have
signalled to the market that they have cash to burn.

(photo: as.com)















Yesterday night Real Madrid called & talked to Valencia President to
shut an already supposed previously agreed deal of around 43M€ when
the latter changed & insisted in adding 7M€ more citing that he had
another competitor,"Mundo Deportivo" cite it is FC BARCELONA,
who has offered more. Valencia claim that their player David Villa
is being undervalued & that Real Madrid player NEGREDO is
overvalued relatively speaking. In fact,Real Madrid (money + player)
has risen their offer three time from 38,40 to 43M€ in the past
days, with Valencia now wising around 50M€.

The huge advantage that Real Madrid has in all this is that it is said
that the actual player has signalled & communicated to Valencia, via
his representative, that the only Club he desires to go to if sold is
Real Madrid.

Other news sources say that Real Madrid is not willing to lift any
further their last offer & that if Valencia CF continues with its
posture &/or player does not force the situation, they will go onto
“Plan B” which is DIEGO FORLAN. In fact “Marca” go further & say
that negotiations are totally broken between Clubs & that Real
Madrid will now go after Diego Forlan. Although this is dramatic
SFS believes it is a “negotiating threat” launched by Real to add
pressure onto Valencia & Villa to force them at odds to move things
forward.

In conclusion, David Villa´s move to Real Madrid is close, yet still far.
Valencia is playing hard & the situation is complex. Valencia
maybe waiting to see if Villa can bag a load of goals at the FIFA
Confederations Cup to give them the arguments to lift further the
players price in the market. It is a paradox, if Villa shows his class &
scores goals his connection with Real Madrid gets further distant as
his market price rises. This may explain why Real wished to shut the
deal last night, before Spain begins today its first game against New
Zealand in the Confederations Cup.

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REAL MADRID THINKING IN DIEGO FORLAN OVER DAVID VILLA?

While Kaka stirs the “transfer” market, local sports daily “AS”
speculate that ATLETICO DE MADRID European Golden Boot &
“Pichichi” forward DIEGO FORLAN is on the mind of REAL MADRID.
The rumours are strong because Real Madrid new Coach Manuel
Pellegrini had Forlan under his wings at Villareal & knows well the
Uruguayan. Plus the Atletico player has a contract release clause of
“only” 36M€ that makes him accessible if the other option of DAVID
VILLA of Valencia CF does not lower his price.

Here is the key to the whole story. SFS speculates – my opinion -
that this news piece is a “smokescreen” & a pressure tactic “invented”
by Real Madrid to lower the price of David Villa who is asking around
40-45M€. Real is using its influence over the media to ignite this
rumour & story to put the Valencia CF & Villa camp nervous. Here
are some reasons to think that David Villa has always been the
chosen man:

1.Negotiations with Villa & Valencia have been going on for
sometime
2.Real Madrid new President has insisted in his new policy to add
more Spaniards to the team. Forlan is Uruguayan.
3.David Villa is younger the Forlan ( 27 years vs. 30 years)
4. Villa is a consistent & regular goal scoring guarantee.

At this point the “AS” front page is pure speculation. For now
Real Madrid have other priorities to handle & solve starting with
the complicated Kaka transfer negotiation, the continuing Xabi
Alonso negotiations & the Cristiano Ronaldo talks that will be complex.
If this has any base of truth it will have to wait, although it smells
like a diversion tactic to lower the price of Real Madrid´s truly
wanted man upfront; the Spaniard David Villa.

Stay tuned!

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