Friday, 28th June, 2013
Newly-appointed Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has told club supremo Florentino Perez of Los Blancos’ apparent deficit in midfield and already has a target in mind who could augment that – Barcelona’s Thiago Alcantara.
The young Barcelona midfielder has been hot in the crosshairs of defending Premiere League champions Manchester United in recent weeks, with manager David Moyes keen on bolstering the long-time problem concerning the Red Devils’ ageing midfield.
It is thought that the Old Trafford outfit are close to signing the La Masia alumni, with the English side offering Thiago a seven-digit salary to leverage his move with the Old Trafford giants – a figure that is three times the sum he is currently earning at the Camp Nou, according to Spanish daily El Mundo Deportivo.
Barcelona are having to exhaust all their will to make sure their talented hot prospect will not be leaving them any time soon, but the difficulty could soon rise two-fold as fierce rivals Real Madrid now join the chase for Thiago’s coveted signature.
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Indeed, Ancelotti is believed to have convinced the Santiago Bernabeu top brass to splash the cash that will trigger the release clause Thiago has in his contract – the same release clause Manchester United are thought to be activating.
Of course, Thiago may not be as keen to make a move to Real Madrid, especially given the history of heated rivalry between the two clubs.
The attention from two such high-profile clubs on Thiago will undoubtedly have come from his inspirational performances during last season, where the 22-year-old tallied six goals and ten assists in his 43 matches for club and country in all competitions.
Such a tally was capped off in style with a magnificent European Under-21 Championship performance where he knocked in a hat-trick to hand Spain a 4-2 win in the final match against Italy.
Thiago’s current deal with Barcelona will see him locked down inside the Camp Nou until until 2015, but signs heavily suggest he will not last that long.
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