Calling True or False on 5 Recent Real Madrid Transfer Rumours

With Barcelona unable to make any transfers this summer, Real Madrid will be able to push their weight around.

If any big names are desperate for a move to La Liga, then the Santiago Bernabeu will be the destination on their lips.

Meanwhile, other clubs are looking at Madrid's squad and hoping to pick off one or two stars for themselves.

Here, we look at five Real Madrid transfer rumours and call them as true or false.

Paul Pogba to Join from Juventus

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Paul Pogba will be the star prize of the summer transfer market, and Real Madrid Castilla boss Zinedine Zidane says Los Blancos are interested in him.

Per Glen Gladwell of ESPN, Zidane said:

"

I don't know where he will go -- you will have to ask him. Right now he's with Juve. Considering his age and his potential, I think he still has plenty of margin for improvement. And when we are talking about a player like him, it's only logical that Real or another big club are interested. It's logical, isn't it? He's young, strong and can get even better.

"

As Zidane says, the interest is logical.

A club of Real Madrid's stature would be insane not to be keeping tabs on Paul Pogba.

Signing the Frenchman is not necessarily the most important thing for Real Madrid to do, but it would be completely their style to stick an oar in when the time comes around.

Verdict: True, but they face a fight to get him.

Gareth Bale to Leave for Manchester United or Chelsea

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

James Robson of the Manchester Evening News says Louis van Gaal will bring one of Gareth Bale or Memphis Depay to Old Trafford in the close season.

Real Madrid's Welsh star, Bale, isn't having the greatest of times at the club this season.

Last season, he was the hero in two finals, scoring crucial goals, but the fans have been on his back a bit this year.

From a couple of fans who attacked his car, to the whistles going around the Bernabeu when he underperforms, Bale has been somewhat under the cosh.

However, per Pete Jenson of the Daily Mail, Gareth Bale wants to stay at the club and win trophies. Jenson wrote: "Asked if it was a fair assumption that Bale would not be going anywhere soon, the message was: 'Correct, and you can leave out the word 'soon'."

Manchester United might well be interested in signing Bale, but he is not interested in signing for them right now.

Verdict: True, but he won't be going to Manchester United.

Raheem Sterling to Join from Liverpool

Jon Super/Associated Press

Another British talent Real Madrid are interested in, per the Daily Mail, is Raheem Sterling.

The Liverpool winger is refusing to sign his contract at Anfield, and Zinedine Zidane has also mentioned that Madrid are tracking him.

Sterling said, in that Mail article:

"

Everyone has their opinion on me at this moment in time but I’m just a kid who loves to play football and to try and improve every day and be the best I can be. It just goes in one ear and goes out the other. I don’t read anything, don’t look at anything and, for me, it’s all football. I’m genuinely focused on doing my best for this football club.

"

It's conceivable he will sign a new deal at Liverpool, eventually.

And looking at his performances so far, he hasn't necessarily been good enough to earn a place at Real Madrid, and especially not in the first team.

Zidane keeping tabs on the youngster is fair enough, but it's unlikely Madrid will make a move for him.

Verdict: False, regardless of any tabs being kept on him.

Raphael Varane to Leave for Chelsea

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

According to The Sun (h/t the Telegraph), Chelsea have launched an audacious bid to bring Raphael Varane and Gareth Bale to London.

We've discussed Bale already, and it's unlikely he'll go. Varane, on the other hand, is a possibility.

Carlo Ancelotti likes Sergio Ramos and Pepe as his centre-back partnership.

That means Varane hasn't been getting as many minutes as he would like. He needs to play to develop.

Recently, the French defender has played more, thanks to a Pepe injury, and he was brilliant against Atletico in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

That earned him a start for the second, alongside Pepe, with Ramos filling in for Luka Modric in midfield.
The acid test will be what happens when the Croatian is fit again.

Verdict: True, though Madrid would be making a mistake if they let him leave.

Eden Hazard to Join from Chelsea

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Zinedine Zidane (him again) did a recent interview with FIFA and caused a stir.

Asked if there were any players in world football that made him dream, the coach mentioned Eden Hazard's name. He said:

"

No. That’s not the right word. There are players I keep an eye on and who I like a lot, like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, of course. They’re fantastic players, but I like Eden Hazard a lot too. I enjoy everything he does on the pitch. I like the way he carries himself, that decisive streak in him and the fact that he’s improving every year. He can still get better too, and I think he’s a big reason why Chelsea are on top of the table.

"

That looks a lot like a big flutter of the eyelashes from the Madrid man to Chelsea's Belgian superstar.

The Mirror took it as that, saying: "Real Madrid could be set to follow a well-worn route to try and lure Eden Hazard away from Chelsea this summer."

And of course he's interesting to Madrid. Hazard is probably the third- or fourth-best player in the world today.

He has the level of technique and flair that Madrid want their Galacticos to have, and you can almost imagine him in a white shirt already.

Verdict: True, though with Hazard signing a new contract, it won't be easy to pry him away.