Makalele gets an offer from Chelsea, offering to almost double his salary. He would prefer to leave unless Madrid improves the salary they pay

The bomb has exploded all right!!!!!!!!

This is the worst news possible. On the same day that Viera signed a deal!

That leaves us with Davids as the only better option. Baraja comes close but was injured often last year I thought. Xabi Alonso does not come close, I think Gatusso is better. Ballack will not be sold. If they do sell Makalele, maybe the best option is to buy 2 central defenders and put Helguera in the middle. I think he is probably even better than Makalele.

I know that this is blackmail but I feel that it was bound to happen. I feel that the match against Juve proved that we can survive the loss of any player, but we cannot manage without makalele. He is not as good as the Galacticos, but he is more important than any of them, with the possible exception of raul and maybe, Zidane. For the last 2 seasons, I'd say that his contibution has been greater and more consistent than Figo. As such an important player, he should get paid at least as much as a Beckham. I don't know how much Helguera gets paid but he is another guy who needs to get paid as much as Beckham.

We can't let him stay an unhappy player...that never works out. At the same time I very much doubt Valdano and Perez will allow blackmail, and I think the way they teated Hierro's dissent is proof of their iron fist.

Chances are they will sell and if they sell, I really hope the guy who comes in is Davids, or if not, then they buy Mexes and Samuel, and put Helguera in the middle.