Madrid Sign Benzema: The Fallout

Benzema Move Has Europe Wide Effect


The I's have to be dotted and the T's have to be crossed but appears that Madrid have struck yet another major blow in the transfer market by acquiring Karim Benzema from Olympique Lyonnais for the princly sum of 35 million Euro's.
There is a lot of reaction to Madrid unbridled spending this summer, and outside of Madrid its not really all that positive. Economic troubles are making fans worldwide brand "El Galactico Dos" irresponsible and morally reprehensible, and despite not being an economic expert (see my Credit Card statement for proof!) I can see the point they are making. However this is Soccer City FC, not the money programme, so I'm going to look at this from a purely footballing point of view, and make no mistake the impact is just as far reaching!

Take Benzema's transfer, look at it from a purely superficial stance and it affects just Real Madrid, Lyon and maybe Manchester United, right? WRONG!
If your wondering what other possible effects it could have, think of the David Villa situation at Valencia. Villa's value will never be higher than it is right now, and Valencia need to cash in to service their debts......Real Madrid was the likely landing spot but thats now out of the question. So realistically the only other option for him is to go to Barcelona which, as a result, would likely oust Samuel Eto'o from the starting strikers spot in the Camp Nou.
Therefore at that stage of his career and with a World Cup imminent, Eto'o is going to want to play regularly and will want out of Barcelona. This immediately puts all the English top 4 and Manchester City on high alert to snatch him.

Already you can see the ripple effect the Benzema transfer is having, and we've not even looked at Madrid yet....so lets do that now!
In a system that will employ a lone striker, Real Madrid now have Higuain, Benzema, Van Nistelrooy, Raul and Huntelaar all vying for the same spot. Presuming Benzema will be the preferred starter, that leaves at least 3 of those players wanting out of Madrid.
The info I have is that Huntelaar already has firm offers from Galatasaray, Wolfsburg, AC Milan, Manchester United and Fenerbache and will likely choose between United and Galatasaray (due to Rijkaard). Raul would retire rather than leave his beloved Madrid so I think Van Nistelrooy and Higuain would be the other escapees from the Bernabeu.

After Benzema's departure Lyon will be in need of a striker, with Toulouse top scorer André Pierre Gignac a probable target and maybe Kierrison from Brazil. The aftershock of that is that all the young striking talent in France couls shuffle clubs.

I could go on but by now I'm sure you get the picture, Real Madrid in their persistence on signing these high profile players for megabucks have basically turned this off-season into a US style free-agent signing period! The last two Balon D'or winners have moved clubs, the hottest young properties in Europe are already moving or seeking moves and nobody with the exception of Lionel Messi seems safe from this swapshop of international class talent!

Love or loathe this new Galactico era at Madrid, it has certainly made this off-season a bit more interesting than normal and has hyped up everyones anticipation of the new season!

Roll on August 15th