The deal for Karim Benzema was painfully close to go through in the summer, until Real Madrid offered more money and the striker made it clear he wanted a move to Spain.
Benzema was paraded around the Bernabeu, kissing his badge as he went, talking about how this was a dream come true.
United then opted to bring Michael Owen in on a free, disappointed not to land the big money signing after selling Cristiano Ronaldo for £80 million.
Since his £35million move, Benzema has scored just five goals, two less than Owen has for United, and has failed to make anywhere near the impression on the fans as Ronaldo has.
Guillem Balague reported yesterday that Florentino Perez is considering selling Benzema in January before the player’s valuation drops too far below the £35million they paid.
If this report is true, however far-fetched it might seem, would you be interested?
There’s no doubt he’s a great talent but he had the chance to join us and rejected it. On the upside, the dream would be dead and at 21-years-old, he wouldn’t be hankering after joining Real Mardid like Ronaldo was when he was with us.
This was the case with Berba as well. He turned us down in favour of a Spurs move in 2006. But Fergie understands quality. HE got his man, albeit at a pricey tag. But he is a fantastic player. And it shouldnt matter if a player chooses another club over ours. Every has their own agenda. No point it getting all worked up about it. If they are good enough, and if Fergie rates them, they will come here. Simple.
Balotelli ! anybody?
Benzema? Couldn’t be bothered.
What we need in January is defenders, and maybe a creative midfielder. Like Xavi – damn he’s fantastic! We’ve seen Giggs in that role a couple of games, doing quite well. And I think Berbatov could be a man for that job, he’s certainly got the creativity.
And strikers – don’t forget Mame Biram Diouf… Last one we got one from Molde was Solskjaer. Diouf may actually turn out to be a great striker in the EPL, given the chance.
So – defenders and midfielders out there. Who’ve we got? Puyol, maybe. Misimovic? Krasic? Hangeland?
A bit off topic – but there you have it.
We’re not in the business of signing rejects, never mind rejects who have so recently pledged allegiance to another club. Suppose we did sign him, what would it say about United as a club? It didn’t work out at Real, move onto second best? It simply won’t happen.
It’s a one-way street. The majority of our players enjoy the most fruitful period of their careers with us, and some of them move on under Real’s pretence that it’s somehow an improvement.
Bebeto
You’re worried what us buying a player from Madrid might say about us as a club, then what the hell does Utd selling the best player in the world to Madrid say about us?
Datnana.balotelli is a quality player but he is just 19 and inter will demand ridiculous money for.also he is a bit arrogant and has temper problems too.he and kiko were talked on the same page but kiko hasnt developed that fast and balotelli has scored 22 in 50 odd games for the first team.scored a cracker against rubin on wednesday.
belfast77, it says “good business”. Perez had regained the presidency, and Ronaldo had given us another season following a summer in which many expected him to go. Were we in a position to reject Madrid’s advances? No, and not only because of the money, but also because Ronaldo’s move to Spain had ‘inevitable’ written all over it. I doubt even Fergie could have appeased Ronaldo if we had denied him the move.
Incidentally, how do you figured I’m worried? It won’t happen, therefore I’m not remotely concerned by the notion.
@ parth312 – no united never had a real interest in the player, berbatov said he turned down united because united were never showing a true interest and he was more impressed with how spurs were trying to sign him. in that time united were trying to sign fernando torres and again the following year, berbatov was like 3rd ir 4th choice for fergie that is why.
benzama is vastly overated who believes his own hype. benzema is no different on what we already got, he is a no 10 striker like what rooney and berbatov does. and why do we want a striker like benzama who is a very moody striker who seems to have a mentality of a nani, I do not want united signing real madrid fans who when he comes good will be wanting to move back to real madrid no thankyou.
Bebeto
You said “Suppose we did sign him, what would it say about United as a club? It didn’t work out at Real, move onto second best”
You must have concerns on some level that other people/teams would think we are second best or you wouldnt have said it, maybe thats not what you ment to say but thats how i read it. Anyway ive just never understood people in general when they say they dont want a certain player because they played for a rival team previously. If a player is available and he can do a job for us i personaly dont care who the fuck he played for in the past. For the record i agree with you and dont think we would go for Benzema now anyway.
belfast77, it’s all hypothetical. It’s similar to when people go on about all of the elite talent we’re ready to bring to the club e.g. a double swoop for Villa and Silva. As fans of this club, we recognise it’s all immaterial.
It just so happens that Benzema’s transfer would be interpreted as a step down, whereas Villa and Silva’s would be a step up, yet I still have little time for either scenario.
@parth312
Quote” Kiko and Welbeck will be there in 2-3 years. They are certainly not the finished articles. They would be great as backup strikers.”
How will Kiko & Welbeck be there in 2-3 years when you put a 35M roadblock in front of them? So meaning in 2-3 years time, a 24yr old Benzema might be a 3rd choice striker?
To be honest……. No fuck him, I would rather SAF go for Higuain
I’d still love to see Benzema at United. He’s MADE for United. Imagine a Benzema-Rooney strikeforce… wow!
Benzema is the nearest thing today to (Brazilian) Ronaldo circa 1997 – and he was an awesome striker.
Karim has so much potential, the only downside is he is apparently a bit of a cock.
That said, this rumour is pure bollocks IMO.
To all united fans….we are the greatest fans in the world…..90% of you are not interested in buying benzema..me too…there are several reasons..
1)we have mickey owen..with a wage of 20k
2)kiko and welbeck..two hot prospects…i am damn sure that one of them will b turned to the status of a pato , aguero.But they need plying time.Why
pato is a hot prospect in europe? bcoz he was given playing time by milan.
3)Loser benzema once turned us down..not a second chance at united..
4)Most importantly we are manchester united
5) We can’t afford him.
I understand that United fans are loyal to united players but common sense any unbiased observer would say Benzema has more talent than Kiko or Welbeck and it would be the best thing for United to buy a player of his talent even if it meant losing one of them
come on guys should we want to see benzema in red devils shirt never. it doesnt matter how good he is even he can become a world player of the year never want him in manutd. after we showed him the respect that he deserved EG: do u guys remember SAF giving our top to him when we went to play lyon several years back? he knows from that point we were interested him and we want and the fans would love him but what he did at last? twat rejected us for facicts(real showed interest just 1week) does he deserve our shirt my answer NOOOOOOOOOOOO. we r not lower than real madrid so we dont want the reject from real. in football or in our history we didnt have world player of the year every season but still we grew up to the top and we will grow up to the top SAF please tell benzema FUCK OFF the word he deserve from u the respect he showed for u interest. I DONT CARE IF HE BECOME A WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR IN THE FUTURE, DONT WANT TO SEE HIM RED DEVIL’S SHIRT SIMPLE. NOTE B4 HE MOVED TO REAL I AM ONE OF THE UTD FAN WHO WANT TO SEE HOMM AT OLD TRAFFORD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BUT NOW NOT EVEN IN MILLION YEARS. IF THEY SIGHN HIM I WILL DOWN GRADE MY SEASON TICKET TO JUST PAY AS U WATCH AS I WILL GO TO OT ONLY BENZEMA INJURED SO HE WONT PLAY.
people may argue what about rooney or owen etc etc….. listen guys we never had a bid for owen and he never rejected us went we want him he said yes, berba people may say he is a flop but in my list he will b my hero always even if he flops coz he choose us over shity(money or true red devil) the list will go on. as far as i know our club never signed a player who reject us or insult us simple.
If Fergie is going for him it should be much cheaper price than 35M. Its better not get Dzeko rather than buying Benzema for that prize. Madrid is not a team for develop. Manchester is the best team to develop a player. Benzema made a huge mistake by not joining United. If we can get hin around 20M. then its great.
never wanted him anyway. had always said he was overrated.
Overrated. Lost his chance to join the best club in the world.
@ Marq, Fair point but your underlying assumption is that BOTH Kiko and Welbeck will be make it to the top at United. I dont see that happening. Only one of them, at the most, will make it big as a striker at United. Lets face it, its getting very difficult for young players to break in to the first team and to expect both your young strikers to make it there and stay there, is well kind of over-optimistic. Welbeck has a better chance at present, but the next few years will decide it. In the meanwhile, we have Berba who is getting older and ofc the main man Rooney. I dont really see a problem with Benzema, Rooney and Welbeck/Kiko. 3 top strikers gives you great rotation. 2 strikers and an injury to one can cause a lot of problems.
No.
Big bad Wes brown
of course Manchester UNited can afford him
I don’t understand why people say things like this do you not think that the richest sports club in the world who sold a player fir straight up 80 million Which was after they made a 28 million pound offer for tevez , 108million, afet a season where they signed a new shirt sponsership and won the league the league cup and the world championship in a season where they were defending English and European champions just went broke . I know the club is in debt but so is that other thing…..?… Oh yeah the world. And if a club like Manchester united who have all that money made in the last 2 years and that only 2 years of money for this amazing club , did go broke in a heart beat it would be global news not mirror.Coms breaking news
he is overrated. sir alex always makes the right choices
http://goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/12/11/1680966/real-madrids-cristiano-ronaldo-the-fastest-in-football
ronny the fastest with the ball at his feet.rooney not far behind.
No one mentioned the fact that Diouf is coming in january, who’s also 21. Maybe his arrival it self tells us that Fergie wouldn’t be considering buying benzema anyway. And yesterday Fergie mentioned a work permit will be applied for Diouf. Let’s hope this comes through easily.
Fze123
dont think he will play this season mate. with owen looking in great form and berba and rooney looking good too he wont play this season. i have read he has looked good in training and should be a success.hope he does well.
Fze123
this guy is the Ryan giggs in his home, they treat him like he’s there version of George best. I seen a story Bout him 2/3 months ago on sky sports news and he is treated like a god. They only showed about 4 seconds of the lad playing football and about 3 minutes of the fans bouncing to a song about him. It made me very excited to know thus guy is coming to united even if I know nothing about him.
Is there really a Leeds player called snotgrass?
aig alex is god – He could feature in the CC and FA alongside the kids. Maybe he’s not ready yet for the prem, from what I have seen on youtube, he isn’t very fast, and would take him time to get him used to the pace of the prem. But he certainly does score for fun, is strong in the air and is ecstatic about playing for utd, from what I read in his interviews.
Gotta hate tiny tears – I have noticed that too. He is mobbed by every single teammate everytime he scores, gets the crowd going crazy. Maybe norwegian fans always get hyper when ever someone scores a goal, but we’ll see. He could well be our black solskjaer.
ghtt
there is a player called robert snodgrass at Leeds scum.thats all i know.he is young, 22 i think. dont know anything else about him
Fze123
even if he is half as good as ole i will be delighted.ole wasnt too quick either but his predatory insticts and cool finishing made him a great striker.the good thing is he is already getting a months training before he is eligible to play so hopefully he can play some part in the CC and FA Cup against leeds scum
benzema is an interesting one. I would say yeh i would have him and get shot of berbaflop. Just look at fernando torres did score goals in spain but he scores more in the premier league when fit another prick that will be wishing he had come to us rather than the scousers. I do think benzema is a class player benzema,rooney,macheda,wellbeck,diouf all playing together for 8 -10 years could be a world beating set of strikers
Benzema: Would you want him playing for you, or against you? Cup-Tied Price of £20-25m is a steal – he’s only 21.
“berbaFLOP”. ? Grow up.
@King Eric
hi mate. forget it.i am tired of answering people who say berbatov is a flop.for some people being a striker is all about scoring goals.we know its not that way and what Berba brings to the team.Without him we would be fiuther behing the rent boys. he had a cracking game against Wolfsburg without scoring a goal.some people dont understand that.
Mclovin7
berbaflop? That’s good you might have a future writing for the mirror.
You could have typed the meaning of life and the single cure for aids and cancer after that play on words and I wouldn’t even have takin it in. How in the blue fuck is berbatov a flop. Cause he’s the best first touch control in the football world or is it the silky skill like cantona or the vision of a keane or is it because he’s the laid back style of a Teddy sheringham . Get a grip, as Scott once wrote if you don’t get berbatov you don’t get football , which is a rule in my head. Scott also once wrote tevez has the touch of a rapist which I always love
Just read the rest of the comment and it’s as stupid as the rest. To say a torres is better than a berbatov is amazingly thick. Torres scores goals and em? Get injuried were as berbatov can score goals can play up front on his own can play in the holding role can assist and can play in a team. Torres can’t and there in lies the problem with Liverpool. Relying on a player to always score a winner with an egotistical midfielder who’s all about the me factor.
@ parth312
You forgot Berbatov & Owen, I did not suggest that both Macheda & Welbeck will be stars, I am only giving 1 of them a chance, and I do rate Macheda much higher then Welback
Benzema will be behind Rooney, Berbatov, and if things go right, in 3 years time, Macheda. 35M bench warmer? Not a very good idea.
And… I just have to rant this off.
To those who slate Berbatov, why can’t you look at things this way? Yes Berbtov did not score 1/2 as much goals as Torres, but if you add assist to the equation, there is not much to choose between them. And to add for an interesting side show, try find out how many successful tackles Berbatov had compared to Torres
RVN > benzema, even at this age
We dont need Benzema but I would get him if the price was right. If they sold him his so called love for Madrid would turn to hate and fuel his ambition to suceed with us, so it wouldnt be a bad signing. And just coz he decided to go to spain instead coz he was caught up in all the Perez hype, doesnt mean I wouldnt support him if he signed for us. Any player that signs for us I will support until its decided by SAF that they arent right for us. To be honest tho i really think this Diouf lad is gunna put any talk of strikers signing for us to bed, he is going to make alot of people sit up and take notice!!
I’m excited about seeing Mame Biram Diouf as well but let’s not count any chickens. We’ve signed a player who’ll arrive in January, all we need now is to sort out his work permit… where’ve I heard that one before?
big bad Wes brown He’s cleared to play in England , he’s been training with the team for nearly a month now
still take him he’s quality like united is a proper club too we would make him the best in the world, madrid is a club that just ruins talent, had this conversation with my boss the other day funny ye should mention it
i don’t think that even madrid would sell one of the new ‘galactico’s mk 2′ (i know that madrid’s players don’t like the term galactico but the majority of football fans – including some of the rm ones are calling them that so i don’t think they have an argument) after just 6 months – that is low even for them. Also there are the matters (a) the player doesn’t want to leave madrid, (b) aparts from prehaps from their coach mp (who most likely won’t be at the the club for more than 2 yrs – this is madrid after all, it’d be weird if they didn’t fire a coach at least every few years) the club i don’t think what to sell (i recall that perez even said benzema is his favourite of the new signings) (c) if saf wasn’t prepared to spend 35-40m then, then he probably wouldn’t now either and (d) Guillem Balague is the biggest (and most annoying) gossip ever & add to that benzema seems to be doing better at rm i think it’s safe to conclude that this is a non story. Anyway, personally i didn’t want him in the summer and i don’t want him now. If saf is able to pinch anyone from rm (though it’ll never happen) get higuain, and once he grows out of the petulance and sees the light in a few yrs that north england is not so bad a piece to be then hopefully saf will rework his magic on ronaldo in time for the london games (never happen but i can’t see him retiring at madrid, because it’s madrid so…)
i believe its must be a dilemma for SAF whenever he thinks of bringing in a new striker. with all the good qualities in our team, pace is one thing we are lacking upfront. also, apart from owen we do not have a natural striker. welbeck and kiko are too young and not there yet in terms of consistency. they will need a couple of more seasons to get that. also both owen and berba will be not at there best in a couple of years. so its my thinking that he will resist the temptation to buy a new striker atleast until summer and will only buy if he thinks that any of the two youngsters are not up to scratch.
but for the sake of giving my opinion i would like us to buy pato from milan. he is top quality and has all the attributes of a top striker and is also very young so is likely to develop even more.
at the moment we are very light in defence and rio is becoming more and more injury prone which at his age is not a good sign for a player. i am wondering why are we not playing de laet at right back. he has looked decent whenever he has played. why have we even bought him if we now think he is not good enough. maybe we can loan an experienced central defender just as stop gap measure.
Tell him to fuck off. He had his chance and he chose to Real.
Yeah, tell him to fuckoff. Man Utd is not a replacement team for him. He went to Real Madrid as soon as they offered more money, so it is clearly stated that he is a money-lover player. And I think we need more defenders or midfielders.