Real Madrid have already tied up two big buys for January 1 : Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra – each costing roughly £20million.
While Real’s title challenge appears over (twelve points behind Barcelona already), they do at least have the Champions League to pursue. As such, they were hoping Diarra and Huntelaar could play major roles in the European campaign.
Not so. UEFA regulations allow for only one player who has played in UEFA competitions already to have their registrations switched. Given both Klaas and Lass played UEFA Cup earlier this season, Real now have to choose between the two of them!
How can Sporting Director Pedja Mijatovic have got this so wrong? Well, he is the man who thought that Royston Drenthe and now, apparently, Jermaine Pennant were good enough for a team with nine European Cups.
