Real Madrid Preparing Suarez Bid
Stop it, Luis. You're not on a Spanish beach yet. Madrid doesn't even have any beaches. - Michael Steele
With Real Madrid apparently not content with trying to sign just Gareth Bale, reports are emerging that Los Merengues are getting set to pursue a deal for Luis Suarez.
Just when you thought it was over and there was no way Luis Suarez was leaving, Florentino Perez bursts in to the room to screw everything up. The Guardian is reporting that Real Madrid is preparing to table a bid for the Uruguayan striker-come-pain-in-our-sides, and while they also claim that Liverpool is ready to "rebuff" the deal, it's not entirely difficult to imagine a scenario where such a deal could happen.
Despite the current seeming that all is copacetic on Merseyside, the contract extension reported to be in the works last week still hasn't materialized. With Suarez agitating all summer for a move, it could hardly be seen as surprising if Liverpool was having a hard time coming to terms with him and his agent, Pere Guardiola. This talk of interest from Madrid would only serve to complicate matters on that front.Remember all the way back to the start of the summer when the Suarez Drama (tm) all started. At the time, Suarez made it fairly clear that he'd fancy a move to Madrid if an offer ever came in. That set off the firestorm that ultimately led to Arsenal's (hilariously) failed efforts to secure Suarez's signature, but through all that mess there was nary a word from the Spanish giants on the matter. Now, however, that finally seems to be changing.
After a frenetic start to the transfer window, which saw Real Madrid bring in Isco, Asier Illarramendi, Dani Carvajal, and Casemiro, Madrid have been largely quiet. Since selling Gonzalo Higuain to Napoli last month, however, they've been working furiously on a deal to wrest Gareth Bale from Tottenham. Now with that deal appearing to be close, Madrid are apparently moving their sights on to what they want to do next.
With rumors swirling of both Angel Di Maria and Karim Benzema being on the outs at the Bernabeau, bringing in Suarez to lead the line for Madrid would make a certain amount of sense. With him, Bale, and Christiano Rinaldo as their tridente with some combination of Isco, Mesut Özil, Luka Modric, Illarramendi, and Sami Khedira behind them, that's an absolutely terrifying squad to have to face.
No fee has yet been floated for the move, but one would imagine that it would have to be a significant number. When the Madrid rumors were first swirling in May, Liverpool reportedly set a £50 million asking price for Suarez. While it's far from certain that Liverpool could get that much for Suarez, receiving anything north of £40 million would likely be deemed acceptable by most of the fanbase.
For those of you who love your rumor mongers, Liverpool Offside
favorite Tancredi Palmeri has not disappointed:He would go on to claim that he's hearing this from the same Madrid source that told him that Carlo Ancelotti would move to Spain's capitol months before it happened. If memory serves, Tancredi was on that particular story before many others were, so there may be at least a grain of legitimacy mixed in with the heaping pile of salt. He then compared the idea of such a move to Wesley Sneijder leaving Madrid for Inter Milan in 2009. Given that Sneijder went on to win the Champions League, that would sting a little.
Obviously, if this deal does happen, Liverpool would prefer it happen quickly in order to have time to sort out reinforcements. Chelsea's approach for Willian may have reopened that door for the Reds (probably not, but still), and fellow Tottenham target Erik Lamela has been mentioned as well. There's been recent talk of Leandro Damiao, and even some rumors of a renewed interest in a Christian Eriksen/Toby Alderweireld double swoop. While it seems like money is only a minor object for the club right now, it certainly could be nice to have more to throw around, and they'd have a lot more if they do decide to move on from Suarez once and for all.
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