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REAL Madrid are still waiting for Arsenal and Chelsea to gift-wrap them Jose Antonio Reyes and Arjen Robben, while Barcelona say they're all done spending. So this week, Spain's leading football paper Marca has had time to run a poll on the 50 worst signings ever in Spanish football. Real Madrid's Jonathan Woodgate came out on top. A bit harsh, considering when the Englishman played, he was more often than not outstanding in the heart of Real Madrid's defence...but getting him to play was admittedly a big problem. Terrible luck with injuries meant he played just 14 matches in two years before being loaned out to Middlesbrough. At £13.8 million ($43m), that made him a £1-million-a-game player and although he was good, he wasn't quite worth a million a match. Real brought him while he was nursing a thigh injury and then forced his comeback, making the injury worse and delaying his eventual debut even more. He will also be remembered for a spectacular first game in which he scored an own-goal and was sent off. He also scored at the right end in a 4-1 win over Norwegian side Rosenburg in the Champions League, famously running the length of the pitch to hug the team doctor who had helped him back from injury. Also featured on the list and perhaps more deserving of worst-ever-signing tag was Patrick Kluivert, who scored one goal in 10 matches after a high-profile move to Valencia in 2005. Another striker featured was Stan Collymore, who signed a one-and-a-half year contract at Oviedo only to last just 78 minutes, spread out over three games, and failing to score. So who will step forward to the plate this season? FORLAN? Will Diego Forlan spectacularly fail to fill Fernando Torres' boots at Atletico Madrid and repeat the form he showed at Old Trafford? Will Pepe live up to his 30-million-euro ($62m) price tag, or will he have Real Madrid fans screaming for the return of Ivan Helguera, who was sold to Valencia? Or maybe Thierry Henry will let down the 30,000 fans who welcomed him this summer at the Nou Camp. Without the influence of Arsene Wenger, will the Frenchman find the form that will get him in the side past Samuel Eto'o, Leo Messi and Ronaldinho? They are all big-name signings who have cost big money but the chances are at least one of the three will struggle this season. In a month's time, we start finding out which one - the kick off to the Spanish season is now less than 30 days away. HENRYMANIA is certainly still going strong in Scotland, although the former Arsenal star is causing a stir with the press more than the fans. The man who drew that crowd of 30,000 for his presentation has just split from his wife Claire Merry and there are rumours of a 30 million euros settlement. Hence the presence of over 100 members of the English press...twice as many reporters who have been sent from Spain. Barcelona are leaving nothing to chance and have given their new star the same special security protection offered to Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho. A BATTLE between the new and the old this year in the Spanish capital. Atletico Madrid are hoping that their young Argentine Sergio Aguero can keep up the goal scoring form he has been showing in the under-20 World Cup. He was the top marksman with seven goals. Real Madrid, meanwhile, are hoping that their new signing from Barcelona, Javier Saviola, can find the back of the net regularly. He also top scored in the under-20 World Cup with Argentina, scoring an incredible 11 goals, in the 2001 tournament. REAL MADRID are refusing to meet Arsenal's asking price for Reyes, set at around £10 million. Business is business and clubs haggle just as companies do in any other industry, but sometimes the price is so fair it's time to just hold your hands up and accept the deal. Reyes is only 23, he is a Spain international, he won the league last season for Madrid with his two goals in the last game after coming on as a substitute. In today's world of daft prices, he is easily worth the £10 million Arsenal are asking...and Real's stubborn refusal to give in means he is missing out on pre-season in Austria. WELL it's not quite signing a player after seeing him on youtube as Manchester United have supposedly done this week, but Real Madrid have signed another defender - 18-year-old Christopher Schorch from Hertha Berlin - having never watched him play a Bundesliga game. Why? Because he still hasn't played one. Schorch will play in Real's reserves next season. AND finally, a surprise. Raul gets a fair few favours at Real Madrid. His legendary status means he can have more poor games than most before being dropped from the side. But credit where credit is due. This week at the start of Real Madrid's training in Austria, Sergio Ramos has been the most impressive in the fitness tests but following closely behind has been Raul - now 30-years-old, the striker is still one of the fittest at the club. The writer is a Madrid-based European football correspondent for England's The Daily Star and The People.
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