Hurry, Get Them Quick: World's Biggest Forwards Up For Grabs

Correspondent Written on June 08, 2009

Previous Next

Slide 1 of 8

MILAN, ITALY - MAY 24: AC Milan forward Kaka in action during AC Milan v AS Roma on May 24, 2009 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

We are into the summer of 2009 and with the transfer market open, one of the most exciting times of the year for football fans is on, despite no action at club level.

This transfer summer is arguably the biggest in years with almost all the star strikers open to moves to new clubs. With Manchester City's spending spree starting with Gareth Barry, Florentino Perez promising to make six big-name signings and Carlo Ancelotti taking over at Stamford Bridge and being linked to many players, we are in for a hell of a ride. Here I look at some of these "stars" up for the grabs and make out the possibility of a move, possibly a world record one.

Ricardo Kaka

Ever since the summer began, there had been speculation on his move to Real Madrid. Now this move looks almost confirmed as Kaka underwent a medical in Recife.

It's been a long rat race between Real and Chelsea, especially since Carlo Ancelotti as taken over at the Bridge. He already showed that money isn't the most important to him as he rejected a move to Manchester City. Chelsea might make a last-gasp bid to hijack this move.

My guess—moving to Real Madrid for a world record of £60m.

Franck Ribery

BARCELONA, SPAIN - APRIL 08: Frank Ribery of Bayern Munich battles with Daniel Alves of Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg match between FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou stadium on April 8, 2009 in Barcelo

He is yet another talent being fought out for by Chelsea and Real Madrid. Bayern Munich are desparately hanging on to him and have given him a price tag of £87.5m.

Both teams have the money but realistically, neither Real or Chelsea need him urgently. Should Real fail to capture Ronaldo, Ribery might become a prime target. Ribery has himself said that he is open to a move either to the Bridge or the Bernabeu.

My Guess: Moving to Chelsea for £40m.

David Villa

Villa is one of the top strikers in Spain and was top-scorer at EURO 2008. A number of top European teams are chasing his services. Yet another player for whom Chelsea and Real are battling. He is more than likely to move given that Valencia are in excessive debt. His price is said to be around £40m.

My guess: Moving to Chelsea for the above mentioned price (I personally hope so).

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo has had yet another good season. His previous season had been so good that many foolish people thought he was in bad form this year. Real Madrid continue to pursue him and Man United carry on trying to avoid selling.

Ronaldo may consider moving after he publicly hit out at Sir Alex after the Champions League final. Real have the money, Ronaldo possibly has the desire, and United will have more than enough money for a replacement. Who knows?

My guess: Staying at United.

Samuel Eto'o-Zlatan Ibrahimovic Swap

SOLNA, SWEDEN - JUNE 06: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden during the FIFA2010 World Cup Qualifying Group 1 match between Sweden and Denmark at the Rasunda Stadium on June 6, 2009 in Solna, Sweden. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Both Ibra and Eto'o had good years in the Serie A and La Liga. A swap deal may be possible. Mourinho loves Ibra but the Inter forward himself expressed a desire to move to the Spanish League. Pep Guardiola might not want to lose Eto'o either as he was a part of the dream front three alongside Lio Messi and Thierry Henry.

My guess: No swap deal but possibly Ibrahimovic moving to Barcelona.

Some other notable mentions

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 30: Michael Essien of Chelsea photographs Didier Drogba and Ashley Cole following victory during the FA Cup sponsored by E.ON Final match between Chelsea and Everton at Wembley Stadium on May 30, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by

1. Didier Drogba being tracked by Inter.
2. Emmanuel Adebayor fancying a move to AC Milan.
3. Youngsters like Pato and Aguero being chased by top teams.
4. Ashley Young and Yuri Zhirkov being wanted by Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea.

There are many other top players being linked to different clubs, but since I can't mention all of them, do comment and let me know.

Begin Slideshow

That's the end of this slideshow, here are a few more you might like...

Ten Greatest Comebacks Wins in European Football History

Throughout the history of european football, there have been many great comebacks that have changed seasons, careers, and the fate of clubs and/or countries in the process...
FIFA World Cup 2010: Looking Out on The Horizon

'...And France are going to the World Cup Finals. Huge relief for Raymond Domenech...' After his controversial handball set up William Gallas' undeserving extra-time winner in France's decisive ...
The Highest Scoring Matches in Premiership History

After the demolition of Wigan by a rampant Jemain Defoe and Tottenham Hotspur's side, I thought it would be interesting to look back at some of the Premierships other goal-fest...

(1)

13 Comments

There are no comments yet. Get the conversation started by leaving the first comment

Loading more comments...

posted just now

Loading...
Nobody has liked this comment yet

Cancel

This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete

<form action="/accounts/create_from_facebook_comment" class="new_facebook_user" id="new_facebook_user" method="post">	<input id="facebook_user_facebook_id" name="facebook_user[facebook_id]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_proxied_email" name="facebook_user[proxied_email]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_profile_pic" name="facebook_user[profile_pic]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_profile_url" name="facebook_user[profile_url]" type="hidden" />
	<ul>
		<div id="facebook_questions">
			<li class="fb-question" id="facebook_full_name_container">
				<p class="question">
					<label for="facebook_user_use_full_name">Use your full name <strong class="full_name"></strong> on Bleacher Report?</label>
					<br />
				</p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[use_full_name]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_use_full_name" name="facebook_user[use_full_name]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_full_name">Yes</label>
				</p>
				<div class="input full-name-edit" style="display:none">
					<p>Edit your name for Bleacher Report:</p>
					<div class="fb-first-name">
						<label for="facebook_user_first_name">First Name <em>(required)</em></label>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_first_name" name="facebook_user[first_name]" size="30" type="text" />
						
					</div>
	
					<div class="fb-last-name">
						<label for="facebook_user_last_name">Last Name <em>(required)</em></label>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_last_name" name="facebook_user[last_name]" size="30" type="text" />
						
					</div>
				</div>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question">
				<p class="question">
					<img src="/images/default-user-icon-medium.png" class="profile_pic" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_profile_pic">Do you want to use your Facebook profile picture on Bleacher Report?</label>
				</p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[use_profile_pic]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_use_profile_pic" name="facebook_user[use_profile_pic]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_profile_pic">Yes</label>
					
				</p>
			</li>
			<li>
				<a id="facebook_connect_submit"><img src="/images/shared/submit.png" /></a>
			</li>
		</div>
	</ul>
</form>

361
reads

13
comments

1
likes

written on June 08, 2009 Rankings/List

<form action="/accounts/create_from_facebook" class="new_facebook_user" id="new_facebook_user" method="post">	<input id="facebook_user_proxied_email" name="facebook_user[proxied_email]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_profile_pic" name="facebook_user[profile_pic]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_facebook_id" name="facebook_user[facebook_id]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_profile_url" name="facebook_user[profile_url]" type="hidden" />
	<ul>
					<li class="fb-question">
				<div class="input">
											<div id="facebook_placebo_submit">
							<img src="/images/shared/submit.png" />
						</div>
										<div class="fb-first-name" id="fb-email">
						<p><strong>Email Address</strong></p>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_email" name="facebook_user[email]" size="30" type="text" />
						<img alt="Small" id="facebook_email_indicator" src="http://assets3.bleacherreport.com/images/shared/spinners/small.gif?1259188455" style="display:none" />
						
					</div>
				</div>
				<div class="input" id="facebook_password_container" style="display:none">
					<div class="fb-first-name notice">
						<p>This email address matches an existing user profile. Please enter your password to connect your accounts.</p>
						<p><strong>Password</strong></p>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_password" name="facebook_user[password]" size="30" type="password" />
						
					</div>
				</div>
			</li>
				<div id="facebook_questions" style="display:none">
			<li class="fb-question" id="facebook_full_name_container">
				<p class="question">
					<label for="facebook_user_use_full_name">Use your full name <strong class="full_name"></strong> on Bleacher Report?</label>
					<br />
				</p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[use_full_name]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_use_full_name" name="facebook_user[use_full_name]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_full_name">Yes</label>
				</p>
				<div class="input full-name-edit" style="display:none">
					<p>Edit your name for Bleacher Report:</p>
					<div class="fb-first-name">
						<label for="facebook_user_first_name">First Name <em>(required)</em></label>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_first_name" name="facebook_user[first_name]" size="30" type="text" />
						
					</div>
	
					<div class="fb-last-name">
						<label for="facebook_user_last_name">Last Name <em>(required)</em></label>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_last_name" name="facebook_user[last_name]" size="30" type="text" />
						
					</div>
				</div>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question">
				<p class="question">
					<img src="/images/default-user-icon-medium.png" class="profile_pic" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_profile_pic">Do you want to use your Facebook profile picture on Bleacher Report?</label>
				</p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[use_profile_pic]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_use_profile_pic" name="facebook_user[use_profile_pic]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_profile_pic">Yes</label>
					
				</p>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question" id="facebook_interested_in_writing_container">
				<p class="question"><label for="facebook_user_interested_in_writing">Are you interested in covering your favorite teams and sports?</label></p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[interested_in_writing]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input id="facebook_user_interested_in_writing" name="facebook_user[interested_in_writing]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_interested_in_writing">Yes</label>
					
				</p>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question">
				<p class="question"><label for="facebook_user_share_activity">Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity in your Facebook activity feed?</label></p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[share_activity]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity" name="facebook_user[share_activity]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity">Yes</label>
					
					<br />
					<a href="#" id="share_facebook_activity_advanced_link">Advanced Sharing Options</a>
				</p>
				<p id="share_facebook_activity_advanced" style="display:none">
					<input name="facebook_user[share_activity_article_writing]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_article_writing" name="facebook_user[share_activity_article_writing]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_article_writing">When I write a new article</label>
					<br /><input name="facebook_user[share_activity_comment]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_comment" name="facebook_user[share_activity_comment]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_comment">When I post a comment</label>
					<br /><input name="facebook_user[share_activity_like]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_like" name="facebook_user[share_activity_like]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_like">When I like an article</label>
					<br /><input name="facebook_user[share_activity_poll_vote]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_poll_vote" name="facebook_user[share_activity_poll_vote]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_poll_vote">When I vote on a poll</label>
					<br /><input name="facebook_user[share_activity_fan]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_fan" name="facebook_user[share_activity_fan]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_fan">When I become a fan of another member</label>
				</p>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question">
				<p class="question"><label for="facebook_user_fan_friends">Become fans of your Facebook friends connected to Bleacher Report?</label></p>
				<p class="options">			
					<input name="facebook_user[fan_friends]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_fan_friends" name="facebook_user[fan_friends]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_fan_friends">Yes</label>
					
				</p>
			</li>
			<li>
				<a id="facebook_connect_submit"><img src="/images/shared/submit.png" /></a>
			</li>
		</div>
	</ul>
</form>

Sign up for Bleacher Report

Already have an account? Log in now » As a member you can get the latest on your favorite teams, post comments, write your own articles, and much more.

Join Bleacher Report

You must register in order for that functionality to work!

Sign up through Facebook

Follow your Facebook friends on Bleacher Report
Share your articles, comments, and more with friends

Great, , you're signed up!

i.e. San Francisco Giants, SEC Football, NFL, Golf

Selected Tags:

Yes, I'd like to receive an email newsletter for the topics I selected.