AC Milan reached a deal with Real Madrid to sign striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, ending the player’s unhappy eight-month spell with the Spanish club.
The Dutch forward arrived in Milan on Thursday to sign his new contract and the club said his medical exam was scheduled for yesterday.
“We have a deal with Real Madrid,” Milan vice president Adriano Galliani told Italy’s Sky Sport 24 TV channel. “All that’s missing is the player’s medical exams and the economic agreement with the player.”
PHOTO: EPA
AC Milan and the city of Milan “hold a special place for us Dutch,” Italian news agency Apcom quoted Huntelaar as saying after he arrived at Malpensa Airport.
“I know Marco Van Basten. He was my trainer at Ajax, as well as for the national team,” Huntelaar said, referring to the former Netherlands striker who spent much of his career with Milan in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“I really want to train and to begin a real adventure,” Huntelaar said.
Galliani did not disclose details of the deal with Madrid, saying only that Huntelaar would not be on loan, but would transfer permanently to Milan.
Madrid also confirmed Huntelaar’s transfer on their Web site.
Spanish sports daily Marca reported on Thursday that Milan were prepared to pay between 15 million euros (US$22 million) and 18 million euros for Huntelaar in a deal welcomed by Madrid, who are keen to offload players before the start of the season.
Madrid have spent 254 million euros on eight players, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, since Florentino Perez returned to the club presidency in June.
So far, the club has raised a reported 15 million euros through the sales of Javier Saviola and Javi Garcia to Benfica, and Daniel Parejo to Getafe.
Expected to follow Huntelaar out of Madrid is his compatriot Rafael van der Vaart. There are doubts over the futures of three more Dutchmen — Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder — together with Mali’s Mahamadou Diarra.
Huntelaar made only 13 first-team starts after joining Madrid from Ajax for 20 million euros in December.
Madrid recently agreed to transfer Huntelaar to Stuttgart for a reported fee of 18 million euros, but the striker rejected the move and the deal collapsed.
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