Real Madrid have completed the signing of French international Zinedine Zidane for a world record transfer fee, believed to be somewhere between £48m and £50m. Zinedine's transfer smashes the previous record fee of £37m, also paid out by Real when they bought Barcelona's Portuguese star Luis Figo last summer.
The World Cup winner was unveiled by the club this afternoon with Real's president Florentino Perez full of praise for his latest acquisition. "I've said before that certain players were born to play for Real Madrid and fit perfectly the characteristics needed to play at this club and Zinedine Zidane is one such player," he told journalists.
"I am confident that Zidane will shine even more brightly than before and that his presence will make this great club even greater. Real Madrid was awarded the title of the greatest team of the century last year and we are now constructing a Real Madrid team that will achieve the same in the 21st century," he added.
The World Player of the Year, who has signed a four-year contract with the Spanish giants, is looking forward to playing with his new club. "It is a great honour to come here to this great club. I have waited impatiently for this moment and I think that after five years at Juventus it was the right time to make a move," said the World Cup and Euro 2000 winner. "Real Madrid have shown in the past and present that they are one of the world's great clubs and I hope that I will be able to do as well if not better than I did at Juventus."
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
