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Finally, the almost two-month rumors about Julio Baptista's future have come to an end. Today, the Brazilian national team defender signed a five-year contract with the Spanish vice-champion club, Real Madrid.
According to club representatives, Real will pay 20 million euros for the Brazilian. If the upcoming season is successful for Real's team, Sevilla will receive an additional nearly 5 million euros. On Monday, the player will undergo a medical check-up and will be officially presented to the club's fans.
"The Madrid club offered me an opportunity that I simply couldn't pass up. I hope Sevilla fans will understand. I'm leaving, hoping that one day I will return here," Baptista said.
Meanwhile, the president of Sevilla, who had been negotiating a new contract with the player for a long time, admitted that this was the right decision.
The Arsenal club was very interested in the player, but Baptista decided to stay in Spain in order to obtain citizenship in this country.
In addition to Baptista, there are three other footballers in the Madrid club without a European Union passport - Brazilians Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo, and Argentine Walter Samuel. Nevertheless, Real will most likely not have problems with the foreign player limit - Roberto Carlos is expected to receive Spanish citizenship soon, while Samuel will probably leave the capital club and move to Inter.
