Inter Milan looking to sign Atlético Madrid Striker and World Cup Golden Ball Winner Diego Forlan
Italian and European Champions Inter Milan have set their eyes on the signing of the 2010 World Cup’s most successful striker Diego Forlan. The former Manchester United man set the World Cup afire with his ability to control the controversial Jabulani ball. Forlan was phenomenal throughout the tournament and came up with the goods whenever his country needed him. Uruguay lost to Netherlands in the semifinal of the World Cup, and later finished 4th by losing to Germany in the match for the 4th position. Forlan ended up with the Golden ball for the tournament.
Diego Forlan is currently playing for Atlético Madrid in Spain, and has been doing equally well for his club. Forlan guided his team to a resounding win in the final of the inaugural UEFA Europa League (formerly known as UEFA league). Forlan did have a little sting in English football for Manchester United but could not find his feet for the Red Devils, but after moving to Villarreal in Spain, he scored big number of goals for the Yellow Submarine, and secured the golden boot in La Liga.
Atlético till now have said that he is not for sale, and they are not considering any offers for their most prized asset. Inter Milan, though, refuse to back off and are planning to come up with a sizeable bid that may tempt the Europa champions to consider the move.
An Italian magazine ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’ has published a report that suggests that Inter is keen on gathering some cash from selling off Mario Balotelli and a couple of other players to put together a massive bid for Forlan.
Inter President Massimo Moratti has also showed his interest in the striker; he said that Forlan is one of the best in the world and has been improving with every year.
There is one factor concerning Forlan that may hamper his move to Italy: he is now 31 years old and many believe that his phenomenal form may not last that long, and a high price tag may not be justified.
Another option that Inter Milan is considering is once again a man who has Manchester United connections; it is the young Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi who plays for Villarreal in Spain. He partnered Forlan in attack at Villarreal, and is believed to be one of the most potent young strikers in Europe. The American born Italian was part of Italy’s squad in the World Cup but did not get much action in a dreadful defence of the title by Italy. It is believed that Inter are preparing a 20 million pound bid for the 23 year old striker.
Talking about some news from Inter’s age-old rivals AC Milan, they have secured the signatures of the Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta on a contract extension. The deal would see the veteran World Cup winner stay one more year at Milan. Last season, Zambrotta played 24 matches for AC Milan. He has been an integral part of the Milan resurgence after the match-fixing disaster that saw AC Milan stripped off their league title and the docking of a significant amount of points. Zambrotta, at that time, was in Juventus who were relegated to Serie-B and he moved to Barcelona before signing for AC Milan in 2008.
A statement on AC Milan’s official website said that the club is pleased to announce that Gianluca Zambrotta has agreed on a one year extension and will be at the club till end of 2011-12 season.
Zambrotta was a very crucial part of Italy’s World Cup winning team back in 2006. Italy thrived on its defence and alongside Cannavaro, Zambrotta was probably one of the players of the tournament for Italy.
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