Real to unveil Heinze and Robben today

zocoss SG

Real Madrid are set to unveil Premier League signings Arjen Robben and Gabriel Heinze at 11.00pm on Thursday. Robben will sign a five-year deal with the Spanish champions - once his move from Chelsea is finalised by a medical. The 23-year-old winger has been a long-term target for Real and the club are set to pay in the region of £21m. Heinze, 29, will arrive from Manchester United for about £8m and on a four-year deal after his club blocked the defender's preferred move to Liverpool. The Anfield outfit tabled a bid of more than £6.8m but United refused to let the Argentine join their bitter north-west rivals. Heinze took his case to a Premier League arbitration panel but it ruled against him.

Heinze, who had lost out on a first-team place at United to Patrice Evra, was considering lodging an appeal when Real made their move. After three seasons at Old Trafford, he will become the third Manchester United player in four seasons to join the Spanish club, following on from David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Heinze will replace Brazilian Roberto Carlos, who left the Bernabeu to move to Turkish side Fenerbahce. After a summer of speculation, Chelsea and Real Madrid have finally struck a deal for Robben, who cost the Blues £12.1m in 2004.

Real president Ramon Calderon had targeted the Dutchman in his election campaign and landed his man when Chelsea failed to persuade him to sign a long-term contract. "We've done some very good business for Chelsea Football Club," said Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck. "The downside of that he is a very good player and we would have liked him to stay. "But for whatever reason - and you will have to ask him - he did not want to stay here."

Robben has scored 19 goals in 104 appearances for the Blues. But after a sensational start at Stamford Bridge, his progress was hindered by injury and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho brought in attacking midfielder Florent Malouda to replace him. Robben will join fellow Dutchmen Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder and Royston Drenthe at the Bernabeu.

zocoss SG

REAL WRAP UP DOUBLE DEAL

Real Madrid have completed the signings of Dutch winger Arjen Robben and Argentina defender Gabriel Heinze. The duo were unveiled as Real players after completing their moves from Chelsea and Manchester United respectively.

Heinze, 29, has signed a four-year deal with Real while the 23-year-old Robben will be tied to the Spanish giants for the next five seasons. The two players undertook their medicals with the Spanish champions and, after putting pen to paper on their new contracts, were unveiled in front of fans and media at the Bernabeu.

Neither fee has been confirmed, but reports in the Spanish media suggest the double swoop could cost Real almost 50million euros (£34million) in total. Both players briefly addressed the supporters and media during their presentation on the Bernabeu pitch.

Heinze said: "It is a pleasure to wear this shirt. I am going to give everything, like I have done up until now. I hope that this year we can continue making the fans happy."

Robben read a message out in Spanish, much to the delight of the supporters in the stands. He said: "I want to thank the club, the president and the board for their effort and patience in signing me."

The arrival of Robben and Heinze took the number of new signings at Real this summer to eight, with Christoph Metzelder, Pepe, Javier Saviola, Jerzy Dudek, Royston Drenthe and Wesley Sneijder already being drafted in.

Trump_Card SG

Im putting my money on them for a consecutive la liga title …

zocoss SG

Have you forgetten the Barce 4 Tigers... Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry & Lionel Messi? If they had not bought Robben i would say its going to Barce, but now i would say it will be a tight race...

Trump_Card SG

Real madrid has got a much strengthened backline now wat ... Mr. Green

Patrik SG

Robben go Real Madrid liao!!!!
Shocked Shocked Shocked

WiNtEr'SkiLL SG

good....... Very Happy

zocoss SG

Yup... so young and so skillful... what a waste.

Madrid finally seal Robben deal

The 23-year-old Dutch winger had made little secret of his desire to move to the Spanish capital and had refused to sign a new deal with Chelsea. He agreed personal terms with Madrid over a month ago but was left in limbo as Chelsea rejected Madrid's advances. Madrid offered 30m up front and then 36m in instalments 20 days ago. Both offers were rejected.

Robben was one of three electoral promises made by Ramón Calderón when he became Madrid president in the summer of 2006, alongside Cesc Fábregas and Milan's Brazilian playmaker Kaka. Calderón failed to sign any of the three last summer and launched fresh bids this summer. While Fábregas said no and Milan refused to release Kaka, Calderón continued to insist that a deal for Robben was close.

Chelsea's on-going refusal to sell represented an embarrassment that grew ever greater as Madrid stumbled their way through pre-season, with the coach, Bernd Schuster, insisting that signing the Dutchman was "vital".

Robben has been joined at Real by Manchester United's left-back Gabriel Heinze, who completed his move last night, as well as other new signings, Christoph Metzelder, Pepe, Jerzy Dudek, Royston Drenthe and Javier Saviola.

zocoss SG

The 'Dutch bullet' arrives at Real Madrid

Real Madrid have signed one of the best wingers in the world. Robben has everything required to make his mark on the fans at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium: speed, a spectacular talent to dribble past players and an incredible powerful shot from a distance. As soon as he gets the ball it seems anything can happen. It is now Madridistas turn to enjoy the Dutchmans formidable style.

Arjen Robben is a rare breed in todays football. Yes, there are many fast attacking midfielders in the world of football, but very few are capable of dribbling the ball with such class inside the box or changing the pace of the game in such a way that thwarts any defenders attempts to steal the ball from him.

This and much more is what Robben has to offer. He has a phenomenal goal scoring instinct and he is an excellent shot; his powerful strikes also make him a deadly player outside the box. His technique is so impressive that it makes him a true nightmare for any defender.

Born in Bedum on 23 January 1984, he started playing football at W Bedum and joined Groningen in 2000. His spectacular performances made him one of the stars of the always mesmerising Dutch League and the greatest teams in said competition became interested in him. PSV Eindhoven were the lucky ones to sign him in 2002.

Robben displayed all his repertoire on Philips team and he established himself as one of the young promises of Dutch football. With coach Guus Hiddink he made great progress and became a key player on PSV, who won the League and the Dutch Super Cup. After winning the Bravo Trophy awarded to the best young player in European football- he signed for Chelsea in 2004.

The Premierships vertical game, in which attacking down the wings is the preferred course of action, helped Robben become one of the fans best-loved players thanks to his amazing dribbles, his runs down the wings and his incredible shots. At Chelsea, Robben won every single English title. His great class made Marco Van Basten draft him to play for Holland, becoming a prominent figure on the national team. Hes scored 7 strikes in his 22 games with the Netherlands and he was one of the best players in last years World Cup.

His outstanding Dutch class has now arrived at Real Madrid, where he is expected to thrill the fans with his excellent quality, which makes him a world-class player.

Taken from the Real Madrid homepage. http://www.realmadrid.com/articulo/rma42009.htm

CKeer SG

Madrid has splashed nearly 100m on 8 new players this season and many would expect immidiate success, especially when you're a Madrid supporter who are known to be demanding.

I think Bernd Schuster has only 1 season to prove himself after splashing out so much.

Cheers.
CK