Pedro Leon was introduced as a Real Madrid player yesterday after joining from Getafe for an undisclosed fee. The Spanish midfielder has signed a six-year contract with the Spanish giants. Leon, 23, is Real's second summer signing after the arrival of Angel di Maria, the Argentina international, from Benfica last month. "Thanks to Real Madrid I can fulfil a dream that I had as a child," Leon said.
"I will give everything for this jersey and I hope I can win many titles." Florentino Perez, the Real president, handed Leon his jersey in a presentation at the Bernabeu. "We said we wanted great Spanish players and Leon has the quality, the capacity and the personality to wear the Real Madrid colours," Perez said. "We hope he will lift many trophies and in the future be selected for the national team."
Reports in Spain suggest Madrid paid Getafe in the region of ?10 million (Dh47.6m) to capture Leon, who helped Getafe to their best-ever finish of sixth place in the Primera Liga last season. Sandro Rosell, the new Barcelona president, has conceded the club may not be able to prise Cesc Fabregas away from Arsenal this summer due to simmering tensions with the English Premier League club over a reported failed bid for the Spain midfielder earlier in the summer.
Rosell says there are currently no talks between the two sides over a deal for the Gunners captain, who was in the Barca youth system but moved to London at the age of 16 in 2003. A reported ?29m bid by Barca for the World Cup winner was turned down by the London club earlier this summer. One player who is on his way to Camp Nou is Adriano, the Sevilla wing, after the two clubs reached a preliminary agreement on a transfer fee of ?13.5m for the Brazilian. The 25-year-old South American, who can also operate at left-back and on the left side of midfield, is discussing terms with the Spanish champions and is poised to become the second new arrival at Barca this summer following David Villa's switch from Valencia.
Don Garber, the MLS commissioner, has moved to ward off English Premier League club Everton from bidding for Landon Donovan, saying the league has no intention of considering transfer offers for the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder. "MLS needs soccer heroes, and we have a great American soccer hero playing for us in LA," he said. Donovan scored three goals in the World Cup. * Agencies
