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Lyon is now reporting that Real Madrid have agreed a deal for French striker Karim Benzema. Earlier today there were reports indicating that Benzema was closing in on a move to Old Trafford, but the Spanish club have pulled the wool over United’s eyes.
This is Real Madrid’s third huge signing of the summer, with deals for Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo already in the books.
This is certainly a devastating blow to Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, as time seems to be running out in their pursuit for a world class striker. Benzema was undoubtedly United’s number one target, but they have again been beaten to the punch. While crosstown rivals Manchester City work on bringing Samuel Eto’o to the club, United will need to figure out Plan B.
More details about Real Madrid’s capture of Benzema will follow.
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Frankly, I think this is Real Madrid’s first bad signing. Why? Gonzalo Higuain. The Argentine will obviously be overlooked by this new signing, even though he was easily Real’s best player last season. It would make sense if Benzema were 27 like Villa, Villa could claim the starting XI and Higuain could grow and slowly claim his spot. However, since only 9 days separate the two players I doubt Higuain will be given much room to grow this season, somewhat similarly to what happened to Bojan this year at Barca.
Monetarily speaking, this is also a pretty bad decision. Since Real Madrid only paid 13 million for Higuain they would want to develop him into a player that could be sold for 30 million should Higuain ever want to leave. Benzema might not even be sold for as much as he was bought, and if he is (which I think he will) the profit margin will be much less. Benzema is not even a superstar, so t-shirt sales won’t be his stronghold either.
Last point, skill. Benzema is a better player than Higuain, but I don’t think the skill difference is so significant that they needed a new striker, much less one of the same age. Not to mention that there’s an adaptation period during which Higuain would have the upper hand. I hope that Real develop both strikers, but with the amount of superstars coming in I doubt they can both find a place in the starting XI.
In my opinion, this is the first time Real Madrid have wasted money (regardless of whether they overpaid for Kaka and Ronaldo, they needed reinforcements in those positions)