Zidane Urged To Ask Juventus For Transfer
Saturday 23rd June 2001
Florentino Perez reacted with delight on Saturday after Juventus midfielder Zinedine Zidane confirmed he wants to join Real Madrid. "Now he must speak to Juve and find out what the club's response is to a possible transfer," said the Bernabeu president.
Zidane spoke out over the proposed deal after his agent Alain Miglaccio claimed on Friday that a decision had "been made".
"I have already chosen Spain," the midfielder told Italian newspaper La Republica from Tahiti, where he is on holiday. "If it was up to me, I would already be at Real Madrid."
Perez responded: "Zidane wants to play for Real Madrid, although that desire isn't enough on its own. Based on the answer he gets from Juve, we will begin to negotiate."
The Real Madrid supremo accepts that he faces a battle of wills with the Turin giants over Zidane's release, but denied reports in Spain that a �40 million offer was already on the table.
"The figures are just rumours," he said. "If the transfer does finally go through, it has to be profitable from both the sporting and economic point of view."
Juventus have insisted all along that the French midfielder is not for sale. "Whatever is said in Spain doesn't affect us in the slightest," general manager Luciano Moggi told reporters on Wednesday.
"The agents and the radio stations are trying to bring him to Spain but he is not going."
But Juve striker David Trezeguet, a club and international team-mate of the France playmaker, suggested a move would happen sooner rather than later.
"It is clear that if my friend Zidane quits Juve, we will play outside Italy. There are no teams here he would join.
"The fans must understand that, if Zidane has made a decision to leave, it is for sentimental reasons and nothing to do with money of sporting reasons.
"Zidane has always said he would like to play in the Spanish championship. It is necessary to respect his decision. He has the possibility of going to play for Madrid and that is something which will be very difficult to refuse."
