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According to MARCA, the deal that will send Luka Modric to Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur is already all but done. They've agreed to personal terms with Modric and they have no problem coughing up the cash that Daniel Levy wants. However, there is a hang-up.
Even though Real Madrid will always have a big squad and money is no problem for them, Florentino Perez doesn't want to waste gobs of money. Currently, Real Madrid have more players than they have roster spots. If the above-linked article is correct, Madrid will have to offload all of Kaka, Hamit Altintop, Lassana Diarra, Fernando Gago and Ricardo Carvalho before they can sign Modric.
This isn't going to be easy, unless all of those players are going to accept massive pay cuts elsewhere. No one's going to take any of those players at more than half of their current wages. Personally, I'd love to have Gago as a makeweight, but only if he's willing to sign a new contract that brings him under our current wage structure.
Given the fact that he's not going to play at Madrid this year and he's been linked to Boca Juniors, he's probably willing to do that. Carvalho and Kaka can probably go to the Brasileirao, cash cushy contracts and live like kings. Altintop and Diarra, though? I'm not sure who wants them at the wages that they'd demand. They might be tougher to unload.
Of course, this is MARCA, which is a pro-Madrid tabloid that regularly prints ridiculous rumors. This could all be complete nonsense, but it seems plausible to me. I expect to see Modric wearing a Real Madrid shirt this year, but I hope it gets sorted soon and that we get a lot of money if he is going to leave, so that we can work on finding both a replacement for him and a top-class striker.
