Real Madrid opens the transfer market

Hamit Altintop and Nuri Sahin have not only become the first two signings towards the next season for the Whites, but also the first two players from Turkey to ever join the club. Planning ahead of time, that is what Real Madrid has decided to do. After losing their third Liga championship in a row to Barcelona, added to the UEFA Champions League, the Whites know that to put an end to the defending champion's hegemony they will need to be a stronger team than what they were this season. To do so they know that the transfer market is the only way to go and they have decided to be one of the first teams to make a move towards the upcoming 2011-12 season. Just like they did last year, the Whites have decided to go fishing in the German Bundesliga, destination from where Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira arrived from this season. Once again they have decided to sign two midfielders to reinforce the roster, which obviously leads us to assume that at least two players in this position will be leaving the team this summer to make room for them. But who are these two new faces? None others than Borussia Dortmund's 22-year-old star Nuri Sahin, and Bayer Munich's 28-year-old multitask man Hamit Altintop. Both of them already know what being teammates feel like, for they are part of the Turkish national football team. Altintop has reached an agreement with the Whites this last week after refusing to sign a contract extension with his former team. Arriving as a free agent makes of this transfer a great deal considering his ability to adapt to a defensive or offensive role according to the needs of the team. His contract is for a four year period. As for Sahin he was the first one to sign for Real Madrid this season. He did so a few weeks ago, right after Borussia Dortmund was crowned as the new Bundesliga champion. Somewhere in between 10 to 12 million Euros was the price that the Whites had to pay for him, in a deal that will keep him linked with the club for the next six years. That way these two midfielders become the first Turk players to ever play for Real Madrid, something that can be considered as great honor, as they are now part of the "best team of the 20th century" according to FIFA. One player that wants to be the next one to sign a contract with Real Madrid is the Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who arrived during the winter market on loan from Manchester City, with an option to keep him in exchange for 16-milllion Euros. Five goals in 21 appearances during this 5 month period in Madrid are not sufficient to convince Real Madrid about keeping him at that price, especially when the player that he came to replace while injured –Gonzalo Higuain- is fully recovered. The only chance that Adebayor has to stay at the club is that the Citizens reduce their demands to a more reasonable price, because since Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho's arrived to Real Madrid this season the policy of expending great amounts of money has been regulated.