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.
Real deal: Nemanja Vidic is poised to join Madrid
at the end of the season
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.
Not so United: Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid last
summer in an £80m-deal
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.
Off the pitch, United chief executive David Gill was involved in
a terse exchange with a fan over the Glazer ownership during a
visit to Birmingham University on Thursday.
The supporter raised a number of objections to United's
controversial owners, who have burdened the club with £700m worth
of debt, but Gill countered by asking: 'How many leagues have we
won in the last three years?'
It is the latest show of dissent against the owners and there is
talk of a takeover bid being put together by a group of wealthy
businessmen who have been dubbed the Red Knights. Leading
bookmakers Fred Done are said to be in the group, along with Keith
Harris, a United fan who has put together a number of football
takeovers.