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Multiple French champion officially confirmed on Friday that he agrees to sell the Mali national team's midfielder to the Madrid club. The amount of the buyout is undisclosed, and the player has agreed on the contract terms to become a member of the Royal club.
It is expected that M. Diarra, who was also actively sought after by "Man Utd," will arrive in the Spanish capital this weekend to finalize the last details of the deal, and all this should not cause any problems because the African player threatened to strike "Lyon" on Wednesday if he was not allowed to move to "Real".
"I am the happiest person in the world, playing for Madrid's 'Real' was my dream and finally it will come true," said M. Diarra to the Spanish newspaper "AS".
It is believed that "Lyon" wanted 36 million euros for the player and for a while rejected "Real's" offers, but Madrid's president Ramon Calderon stated that coach Fabio Capello asked to focus on the acquisition of M. Diarra and after talking about protest, "Lyon" eventually had to surrender and, according to the Spanish newspaper "Marca," agreed to sell the Malian for 25 million euros.
"We negotiated with great professionalism. We agreed to buy the player for a much lower amount than what 'Lyon' wanted," said R. Calderon speaking to "Marca" without hiding his satisfaction with the deal.
M. Diarra should become the fourth purchase by "Real" since club president R. Calderon won the elections. The nine-time European champions have already been joined by the World champion captain of the Italian national team, defender Fabio Cannavaro, Brazilian midfielder Emerson from Turin's "Juventus," and Dutch forward Ruud van Nistelrooy from "Man Utd." This trio cost the club 35 million euros.
Since 2003, "Real" has not won any trophies and recently also negotiated the return of London's "Arsenal" defender Jose Antonio Reyes, but it is believed that the Madrid club is not willing to pay a similar amount to what "Lyon" will receive for M. Diarra.
