TRANSFER BATTLES: Bale, Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Mendey, Rooney, Mignolet, Alberto, Weimann

Zinedine Zidane has admitted Real Madrid will have to break the world transfer record to sign Gareth Bale.

The Tottenham winger has been heavily linked with a move to the Spanish capital with Madrid reportedly lining up a bid of £85million.

That would smash the £80m they paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo four years ago.



'The talk about Gareth Bale is not a surprise,' Zidane, who is Madrid's sporting director, said. 'It is impossible to have the season he just had and not be linked with the biggest clubs in Europe.

'If any club is going to tempt Spurs, then it will take big money – maybe even record-breaking money.

'There are four or five clubs at the moment who have the finances not to be put off by a record-breaking fee like that.'

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez claims Cristiano Ronaldo wants to commit his future to the club. Ronaldo has previously hinted he plans to leave Madrid when his existing deal expires in 2015, and has been reluctant to enter into talks over new terms.

But Perez claimed the Portugal forward was ready to talk.



'I am going to be as clear as possible,' he told Marca. 'My aim, Cristiano's aim, and the aim of all Real Madrid fans is that he carries on playing here for many years to come.

'And when so many people want the same thing then it usually turns out to be the case. I myself and Real Madrid both want that. The player, Cristiano Ronaldo wants that...Without a shadow of a doubt.'



Borussia Dortmund's chief executive says that striker Robert Lewandowski will not be sold to Bayern Munich in the summer.

The Poland international, 24, seemed set for a move within Germany to Dortmund's bitter rivals Bayern but now Manchester United could pounce.

Team-mate Mario Gotze caused uproar when he agreed to move to the German treble-winners for next season and Lewandowski was expected to follow him.



Dortmund's CEO said, as reported in Bild: 'Robert Lewandowski will definitely not make the switch to FC Bayern in 2013. That's final. We have informed Robert and his agents now.'

United, for whom Lewandowski is a long-term target, will be looking to strike as he is now likely to leave for a club outside the Bundesliga.



The Red Devils are also keen on Monaco midfielder Nampalys Mendy.  The 20-year-old has stunned Monaco by revealing that he intends to leave the club as a free agent this summer.

Mendy, often compared to former France international Claude Makelele, was a regular under Claudio Ranieri as he helped Monaco secure promotion back to Ligue 1.



Ranieri said: 'I do not understand his attitude. As soon as I saw him play, I said here is our Makelele. I trusted him and I played him. I think he will miss out on a great deal. But it's his life, not mine. He has preferred to listen to his brother and agent and not his coach. It's a shame.'

Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva has begged his club to sign Wayne Rooney after revealing his admiration for the unsettled Manchester United forward.

Rooney had a transfer request turned down by Sir Alex Ferguson towards the end of last season and is seeking showdown talks with new United boss David Moyes when he returns from holiday.

Should the England star, 27, reiterate his desire to leave Old Trafford then the wealthy French champions PSG would be at the front of the queue to sign Rooney.

Centre back Silva, who marked Rooney in last week’s 2-2 draw between Brazil and England, told media in his homeland: ‘I love this player.

‘Whenever I have played against him he has scored. I would really like Rooney to sign for PSG. This would be a reinforcement of quality for us.’

Silva added that he is looking to extend his stay in the French capital after a successful first season with PSG.

‘This is something that occurs at each transfer window,’ the 28-year-old said ahead of Sunday night’s clash between Brazil and France. ‘I am under contract at PSG [until 2017] and I hope to go after this contract.’



Liverpool will step up efforts to sign Sunderland No 1 Simon Mignolet after mixed messages from current goalkeeper Pepe Reina about his own future.

Reina has been linked with a move back to his first club Barcelona and Belgian international Mignolet would be a cheaper replacement at £7million that Stoke’s impressive Asmir Begovic who is valued at £12million.

Reina has insisted speculation about his future is not a distraction but would only say he is committed to Liverpool ‘right now’

Liverpool’s Pepe Reina has said he will only leave Liverpool this summer if there is an offer from Barcelona.

Reina said: ‘I have a contract at Liverpool and I feel valued there. They only reason I would plan to move elsewhere is if there was interest in me from Barcelona.’



The Merseyside club are closing on a £5million deal for Sevilla winger Luis Alberto. The 20-year-old has been on loan at Barca B and expected to stay at Sevilla but the cash-strapped club are willing to make a sacrifice if Liverpool agree to supplement the deal with add-ons up to £8million.



Andreas Weimann has given Paul Lambert a huge boost by agreeing a new three-year deal to stay with Aston Villa. The Austria forward, who has been on international duty this week, is due in Birmingham on Monday to sign the paperwork before leaving on holiday.

Weimann had been tracked by Spurs, Newcastle and Norwich City as he had just 12 months remaining on his current contract. But it appears that Villa have acted quickly to tie up the 21-year-old forward who enjoyed a breakthrough season under Lambert.