• 'Door to more signings closed' until players
leave
• We are in a difficult market, says Jorge Valdano
Real Madrid's director general Jorge Valdano says
the club has found it difficult to sell several players.
Real
Madrid are in need of funds to finance
more signings but are finding it difficult to sell several players
in a tough market, according to their director
general.
"We are constantly working on the sale of players and the door
to more signings will remain closed until players leave," Jorge
Valdano said today.
The Spanish club, who have spent more than €200m (£172m) on four
players this summer, are still looking for a central midfielder and
a defender, but Valdano said they have been hampered by trading
conditions.
"We are in a difficult market and we will work until the very
last minute to offload the players that are not in the coach's
plans," he said.
Real's attempt to sell their Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
to the Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart for a reported fee of around
€18m collapsed today. They are also looking to sell Huntelaar's
compatriots Ruud van Nistelrooy and Royston Drenthe and the Mali
midfielder Mahamadou Diarra, among others.
"In some cases they [the players] are resisting and in others
there are no offers," the Real sporting director Miguel Pardeza
said today. "The sale operation may seem simple but it's not. It's
not easy convincing them to leave Real Madrid for what is generally
a lesser team," he told the Spanish daily Público.
