28 Mar, 2019 12:36

$550mn spending spree: Madrid boss Zidane ‘plotting triple swoop for Hazard, Pogba & Mbappe’

Returning Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is planning to hit the transfer market hard in the summer, with a trio of the world's best players reportedly on a wanted list that could top half a billion dollars.

Zidane is set to be handed a colossal transfer budget - thought to be as much as $560 million (€500 million) - to help revive Real's fortunes, with the club struggling to keep pace with longtime rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

Madrid currently sit third in the table, 12 points adrift of Barca and two points behind cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid with 10 games of the season remaining.

The club also suffered a shock elimination from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Dutch side Ajax, who thrashed Real 4-1 at the Bernabeu to send them crashing out at the Last 16 stage.

That result proved to be the last straw for then-boss Santiago Solari, who was dismissed and replaced with Zidane, who returned to the club for his second managerial stint following a glorious first tenure in which Real won three successive Champions League titles.

Also on rt.com ‘Now he has to build a team, it’s a different challenge’ – Mourinho on Zidane’s Real Madrid return

And with their talismanic boss in place, the Spanish giants are planning on making some major waves in the summer transfer market in a bid to return to the top of the sport, both domestically and in Europe.

Reports emanating from France have suggested that Zidane has targeted Paris Saint-German striker Kylian Mbappe and Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba as potential big-money summer signings, with Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard also thought to be high up on Zidane's transfer wish list.

One man who hopes to see Hazard move to the Bernabeu is Madrid keeper and countryman Thibaut Courtois, who played alongside him at Chelsea.

"I don't know if he's going to sign for Real Madrid, nor do I know if the club want him," he told the Daily Mail.

"For me, he is a great player, but I don't decide those things. He is one of the best in the world and, as a friend, I would like him to be here."

Real have also been linked with a host of other top-name players, including Liverpool striker Sadio Mane, Spurs midfielder Christian Eriksen and Lyon anchor man Tanguy Ndombele.

The possible arrival of a host of big-name, big-money signings may spell the end for a number of existing Madrid stars at the club.

Midfielders Casimiro and Marcos Llorente have been linked with a possible departure, while Gareth Bale's at-times turbulent six-year spell at the club may also be up for consideration, with a number of Premier League clubs believed to be interested in bringing the Welsh star back to the UK.