Real Madrid Transfer News: Robin Van Persie Would "Love To Play In Madrid"

The not-so-subtle love affair going on between Real Madrid and Dutch striker Robin Van Persie took a turn towards blatant courtship today when the Arsenal captain admitted that he would "love to play for Real Madrid." In declarations to Spanish daily Marca (I know), Van Persie admitted that "having a club as great as Real Madrid interested in my services pleases me." While Marca has been known to falsify--or at the very least exaggerate--player's and team's intentions, this report seems more or less spot on, as they did manage to interview Van Persie himself.

Two questions remain, however: first, whether Real Madrid is really interested, and if so where Van Persie would play on the squad, and secondly, whether Arsenal would be willing to part ways with their talismanic captain. The first question seems pretty clear: Real Madrid would be interested in acquiring the Dutchman, but probably not at an inflated cost. Adding such a productive forward couldn't be bad for the squad, though it could potentially harm the production (and value) of Madrid's two young strikers, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema.

Marca did speculate on the second question: they are reporting that Arsenal would not be willing to negotiate with Real Madrid for anything less than €40 million. While this price seems a bit steep to me, it is possible that Madrid could bring down the cost of the operation (if they really do want Van Persie) by including a Gunner favorite from their bench in the operation (Esteban Granero springs to mind).

Whether this transfer will come to fruition is complete speculation at this point, but it is worth thinking about given Van Persie's apparent desire to leave Arsenal and Madrid's interest in his services. What do you think, madridistas? Is this a worthwhile endeavor?