Real Madrid has a lot to do with the transfer window closing soon. Chief among them will be finding someone as bankable as Cristiano Ronaldo.
On most transfer deals €112 million would read as a profitable one for the club selling. But when Real Madrid sold their Portuguese talisman for that amount to Juventus it seemed like a loss that fans are yet to reconcile to.
The 33-year-old is in the last leg of his career but one cannot help wonder if both he and Madrid could have continued their European dominance had the Portuguese superstar stayed back.
Despite winning the last three Champions League titles there was enough pressure at Bernabeu for coach Zinedine Zidane to walk away. Ronaldo too had made his feelings clear right after Real clinched glory in Kiev. Perhaps both feel the need for greater challenges.
Madrid though has to figure out what will entail their continuing reign. The appointment of Julen Lopetegui was marred by questions over impropriety and leading to him being fired from his Spanish managerial position on the eve of the World Cup. As per AS English, he was probably the sixth manager in terms of preference for Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
Cavani to Real Madrid?
Perez will want to make a big deal acquisition to soothe fans and club morale before the transfer window closes. As per AS, PSG striker Edinson Cavani is the chief target with talks of £89m being a possible fee. The Uruguayan did his chances no harm when his two goals knocked out Ronaldo's Portugal of the World Cup.
Marca had run a poll asking fans who they would want as their center forward replacing Ronaldo. Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane earned 26 percent of the votes far ahead of Cavani who got 14 percent. Mauro Icardi from Inter Milan received 14 percent as well. Borussia Dortmund star Robert Lewandowski who has been linked to Madrid garnered 12 percent of the votes.
Kylian Mbappe the French teenage sensation from PSG was not on the list of potential candidates. It is a poll that Perez cannot dismiss lightly as it reinforces a hole that they have now. They need someone to score goals and add a generous dose of charisma to Los Blancos.
