Real deal: Nemanja Vidic is poised to join Madrid
at the end of the season
Real Madrid believe they have won the race to sign
Nemanja Vidic and that he will follow his close friend Cristiano
Ronaldo to the Bernabeu at the end of the season.
AC Milan looked to be edging towards a deal for the unsettled
Manchester United defender
after leading a chase that also involved their city rivals Inter
and Spanish champions Barcelona.
But Sportsmail understands he is bound for Madrid in a
£20million transfer that will end an increasingly uneasy
relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson.
The United manager has been less than impressed with Vidic's
longing for a move to southern Europe and its detrimental effect on
his form this season.
Though the 28-year-old Serbia star has been troubled by injury,
Ferguson has had misgivings about selecting him anyway when fit,
due to concerns over the centre half's concentration.
Resigned to sanctioning Vidic's departure, Ferguson is prepared
to accept £20m from Real and use it for reinforcements.
Replacement: Smalling will join United in the
summer
Fulham's Chris Smalling has already been bought for £10m
and will join in the summer, and United are looking closely at
Benfica's David Luiz, Palermo's Denmark centre back Simon Kjaer and
Porto's experienced defender Bruno Alves.
There were claims yesterday that Vidic has put his house up for
sale, or is about to, in readiness for a move that will reunite him
with Ronaldo, 12 months after the former United winger joined Real
for a world-record £80m.
The pair developed a strong friendship at Old Trafford and were
known to sit together on the team coach and discuss their long-term
futures on the journey to games.
Though Vidic will be savouring the prospect of teaming up again
with Ronaldo, Ferguson may be less enthralled at having his hand
forced by a repeat scenario of a leading player agitating for a
move and Real capitalising.
At the height of speculation linking Ronaldo with the Bernabeu
last season, Ferguson famously growled: 'Do you think I'd do
business with that lot? I wouldn't sell them a virus.'
He subsequently climbed down and accepted the inevitability of
losing the Portugal star, just as he has reluctantly excluded Vidic
from his plans for next season.
Signed from Spartak Moscow for £7m four years ago, the defender
initially gave AC Milan cause for optimism by responding positively
to their overtures, but he was eventually swayed by his wife Ana's
preference for a move to Madrid.
Real sporting director Jorge Valdano has been working on a deal
since before Christmas and is believed to have told the Bernabeu
board that an agreement has been reached on a £20m fee.