Calling True or False on 4 Recent Real Madrid Transfer Rumours

Real Madrid are playing catch-up, having seen Barcelona win the treble last season.

Despite that, they've only brought in squad players, like Kiko Casilla from Espanyol, and loan returns, like Lucas Vazquez and Denis Cheryshev.

Danilo from Porto has been the biggest acquisition so far, and even he isn't guaranteed to be a regular starter with Dani Carvajal also an option in that position.

So here we look at four rumours surrounding players coming both in and out of the club.

Karim Benzema to Arsenal: False

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is interested in bringing his French compatriot Karim Benzema to north London, according to the Sun (h/t Sport).

They claim the Gunners are readying a bid of £40 million for the striker. However, the coach has denied that a move for Benzema is underway "at the moment."

He said, per the Independent: "I don't know where that story comes from, but that is not happening at the moment."

Arsenal could do with a better striker, given their top option is Olivier Giroud, with Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott as other possibilities.

However, it's difficult to see Florentino Perez wanting to let Karim Benzema go.

According to Iker Casillas' agent Santos Marquez in AS, the forward is one of his favourite players at Real Madrid and the president doesn't like seeing men he loves leave.

If they sold Benzema, Madrid have to bring in a top-quality forward, and there is not a large number of those knocking about at the moment.

Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United: True

Hrant Khachatryan/Associated Press

Labelling this move as true doesn't mean it's going to happen. It just indicates that Real Madrid doesn't appear to be averse to a transfer and neither would United, according to the Metro.

There are many hoops to jump through, and selling Ronaldo will be a complex operation that might take a long time to complete.

This could happen next summer, or then again, depending on how Ronaldo performs under Rafa Benitez, might not be as appealing to the Old Trafford side.

But as Marquez notes in AS, president Florentino Perez has sold Ronaldo's image rights to Peter Lim. He said:

"

One day he will also need to explain why Cristiano works for another company outside of Real Madrid. Imagine Cristiano generating 40 million euros elsewhere and giving it to Peter Lim, Valencia’s owner. It ends up in Valencia’s coffers and that’s deplorable.

...

Will anyone speak out and ask Florentino why Cristiano has sold his image rights to Peter Lim? That’s not normal; it suggests that Cristiano is planning to leave.

"

Of course, selling the second-best player in the world probably isn't a good idea. But there's enough weight on both sides of the deal to suggest there is a chance of it happening.

Gareth Bale to Manchester United: False

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

This is another transfer that technically could happen, but the player seems determined to make a fist of his career at Real Madrid.

Perhaps more importantly, Florentino Perez (yes, him again) loves the Welshman and having made him the most expensive player in the world, won't give up on him easily.

In that revealing interview in AS with Santos Marquez, he says that Bale is Florentino's favourite player:

"

The squad knows who [Perez's favourites] are and so does the coach. The only clash he had with Ancelotti was over Bale. He thinks that Bale is the best in the world. He doesn’t know how to take care of the Ballon d’Or winner which he already has in the squad. Bale is going to play wherever he likes.

"

The Sunday People (h/t the Mirror) say Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal will move for the winger "after Old Trafford sources have confirmed Bale—now valued at £95m by the Spaniards—is still on their radar."

But the reason this is unlikely to happen this summer is because Madrid don't appear to have any intention of selling the star, who could end up being the key piece of their attack this season.

If Bale struggles again after a poor second season, we'll talk next summer.

David De Gea to Real Madrid: True

Jon Super/Associated Press

We've known for a long while that David de Gea is a Real Madrid transfer target.

It seems to be a question of when, rather than if he will move to the Santiago Bernabeu from Old Trafford.

Recent events suggest it will be next season, when his contract expires, rather than this summer, though beIN Sports' Tancredi Palmeri reported on July 19 that United were set "to meet tomorrow with Real Madrid for De Gea."

Madrid have signed Kiko Casilla to fight it out with Keylor Navas for the No. 1 jersey.

That's a figure of speech, because the shirt vacated by Iker Casillas has been handed to the Costa Rican stopper.

If one had to forecast the future, you'd imagine Navas would be first choice this season, departing next season with De Gea coming in and taking that No. 1 shirt, with Casilla an able back-up both this term and next.