Real Looking for Trouble, Want Adriano

Spanish sports newpaper AS (I can’t link directly to the story, but do a search for “Adriano” and you’ll find it) this morning is all over the story of Real Madrid’s alleged pursuit of Inter’s Brazilian partyboy, AKA Adriano. According to the AS story, Real reps (including club president Ramon Calderon) have been in talks with Massimo Moratti and the striker’s agent for the past few weeks, despite Moratti’s insistence he’ll never let the boy go.

At the core of this story, at least as far as Spanish football is concerned, is the fact that much of Real’s boardroom had no idea these talks were going on. For them, it’s a sign of (even more) conflict behind the scenes at Real. What’s relevant to us, though, is if there’s any truth to the story, and why on earth Real would want to buy someone who refuses to behave off the pitch and is only productive sometimes — particularly when he’s earning £4 million/year.

As odd as it is, I can totally see Adriano at Real; he’s exactly the sort of big-name, splashy player they love to buy, often without a ton of concern for whether he’ll help the club, or even fit in. Or, in the case of Adriano, whether he’ll be a perpetual headache for whoever ends up in the manager’s chair there next year. The Brazilian’s partying has clearly created a rift with Mancini and, despite his wildly productive mid-season form, one could be forgiven for assuming Mancini would be happy to see the striker go. Plus, Inter aren’t exactly thin up front these days — if they could offload Adriano for a big price rather than paying him £4 million/year until 2010, I’d imagine they’d jump at the chance. Or maybe I’m just crazy.

Category: Inter Milan, Rumors & News, Serie A

Tags: Adriano, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Rumors -amp; News, Serie A

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