The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Karim Benzema to Real Madrid
This whole Benzema thing is getting messy. His Lyon team-mate Miralem Pjanic claims he will join Manchester Utd, and Arsene Wenger is said to have expressed an interest, but according to this morning’s Marca, the young Frenchman will be anounced as a Real Madrid player in a matter of hours.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Madrid’s chief director Jorge Valdano has just ramped up the speculation by saying:

“We do not discard the possibility that in the next few hours, something could happen.”

If Lyon accept Los Blancos’ €35m-ish bid, this one is on.

Alexandre Pato to Chelsea
The Milan party line is that The Duck ain’t going nowhere, but according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, one of Roman Abramovich’s henchmen was spotted at Milan HQ yesterday. An improved bid of €60m could be on the cards.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: It’s quite possible that the webcam fan will wish to join his former manager in West London, but we’re not holding our breath for Adriano Galliani to change his opinion on the matter.

Javier Mascherano to Barcelona
AS believe Barcelona are prepared to actually spend some money this summer, and are lining up an ‘irresistible’ €30m offer for the Liverpool star.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: By purchasing the Argentinean captain, Barca would almost certainly destroy Madrid’s chances of landing Xabi Alonso. It’s got to be worth it on those grounds alone, hasn’ tit?