Soldado drops Benfica hint

Real Madrid striker ponders move to Lisbon

Real Madrid striker Roberto Soldado has confessed that a move to Portuguese giants Benfica would be appealing. News broke that the Spanish hotshot is currently being courted by the Lisbon club as Quique Flores is a big admirer of the 23-year-old’s abilities.

“If I play for Benfica, I will give everything to the club and defend my team until I die. This is what the fans demand of their players,” said Soldado. “The coach knows me well and he knows what I can give to the team. I will give a lot in the dressing room and I know how to supply confidence to the other players.”

“Benfica are not the only team interested but they do have various factors in their favour. They have a possibility of being in the Champions League next year and that is an important deciding factor.

“But there are teams in Italy and England who have shown their interest. When there is a concrete proposal, I will decide then.”

Getafe striker link

The Real Madrid marksman is not the only striker that Benfica have enquired about as the club have been sniffing around Getafe’s Ikechukwu Uche.

The Spanish side’s director of football, Torres Sanchez, confirmed Flores’ curiosity regarding the 24-year-old. “Quique Flores told me that the player could be of interest if we were willing to sell, but he never contacted me again. Did I tell him a price? That is not news,” stated the director cryptically.

Uche, who last season scored only 4 goals in 22 appearances, has a buyout clause of 40m euros, a figure that is way too steep for Benfica’s coffers. Sanchez did confirm that Valencia attempted to buy the player with a bid of 16m, but the Madrid club turned that down immediately as they highly value the player.

The Getafe club executive also added that Flores made enquiries about Argentine defender Cata Diaz.