France striker Karim Benzema is joining Real Madrid from Olympique Lyon, the Ligue 1 club said on Wednesday on their website.

The 21-year-old Benzema will become Real’s third major signing under returning president Florentino Perez after Brazil’s Kaka and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

When Perez was first in charge at the Bernabeu he set about signing one Galactico each close season. Now he is trying to buy them all in a month.

Where is he getting the money from during this global economic crisis? Furthermore, what damage is the spending spree doing to other clubs?

Manchester United were reportedly interested in Benzema to try to boost their forward line after Ronaldo’s departure.

We really are in unchartered territory here. Will Real still pursue Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery too?

Last time the Galactico plan did not actually bring trophies. A few defenders might help this time.

PHOTO: Olympique Lyon’s Karim Benzema reacts after their loss to Girondins Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1 soccer match at the Chaban Delmas stadium in Bordeaux, southwestern France, April 19, 2009. REUTERS/Olivier Pon

The campaign to be the next president of Real Madrid Football Club has finally kicked into gear with the claim from the little known Eduardo Garcia that, if elected on June 14, he will bring with him the Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Promising big-name signings has long been an easy way for candidates to drum up support for the presidency at Real and Barcelona, the two member-owned Spanish clubs, but ever since Florentino Perez came from nowhere to take the 2000 election what was once an entertaining sideshow has become the key battleground.

Perez, you may remember, outrageously delivered on a promise to sign Luis Figo from Barcelona in 2000 and the grandmaster is set to announce he is standing again, after resigning in 2006.

Garcia, the 29-year-old director of an IT consultancy, is considered a huge outsider for the position but he earned a bit of publicity with his claim that he could land Drogba, as well as Palmeiras attacking midfielder Keirrison and Racing Santander left back Ivan Marcano. (The fact the interview was hidden away on page 6 of sports daily AS shows how seriously his candidacy is being taken in the local media.)

The latest election campaign at Real was ushered in by the resignation of Ramon Calderon, who failed to deliver on his pre-election promises of bringing Kaka and Cesc Fabregas in 2006.

While agents rub their hands, clubs in Europe and South America will bracing themselves for a flurry of interest in their players, as candidates try to outdo each other in the rush to win the votes of club members.

The other candidates will have to work pretty hard to outdo Florentino.

Most of the speculation in the sports papers is linked to the architect of the ‘Galacticos’ policy, and who he might sign — bearing in mind he successfully bought Figo, Zinedine Zidane, the original Ronaldo, and David Beckham.

Familiar names from the last couple of years such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa are filling the front pages, while coaches such as Arsene Wenger and Carlo Ancelotti are being mentioned as replacements for Juande Ramos.

So far the former president has kept quiet … but as agents’ hands are shaken and claims of signed pre-contract agreements flood in we will keep you posted using our Great Real Madrid Presidential Candidacy “Promisometer”.

GALACTICOS: Real Madrid’s Ronaldo (L), Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham congratulate Luis Figo (R) after he scored against Hong Kong during a friendly on August 8, 2003. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan

Ronaldo was not surprisingly delighted to lay hands on a winner’s medal so soon after returning from last year’s knee injury but even he probably knows deep down that it is not that much to get excited about.

Ronaldo’s performances for Corinthians have already started talk of a Brazil recall — he has not played for his country since the 2006 World Cup — and national team coach Dunga was in the crowd when Corinthians held Santos 1-1 to win the Paulista championship on Sunday.

But what exactly is the Paulista championship? The format of the Brazilian season often baffles outsiders and maybe this is a chance to put it into context.

For the last few years, the country has run a conventional league — usually known simply enough as the Brasileirao (literally the Big Brazilian) featuring 20 teams who play each other home and away in the conventional style.

It is preceded, however, by the regional championships, one for each of Brazils 27 states. These tournaments are based on politics rather than any footballing logic.

They have been around since early 1900s when a national championship was inviable but have survived the advent of air travel and all attempts to remove them.

Each state has its own federation who in turn choose the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). Therefore, abolishing these tournaments would be electoral suicide for Ricardo Teixeiro, who has held the post since 1989.

Taking the Paulista as an example, only six of the 20 teams — Corinthians, Santos, Palmeiras, Sao Paulo, Santo Andre and Barueri — play in the Brazilian first division. The rest are from the second and third divisions and some are barely professional.

This means that for four months, most of Corinthians’ matches have been against lower division sides.

Given that Palmeiras and Sao Paulo have been more interested in the Libertadores Cup — South America’s equivalent of the Champions League — and that Santo Andre and Barueri are themselves small teams, Santos were probably their only real rivals for the title.

For Ronaldo, the real test starts next week with the Brazilian championship.

PHOTO: Corinthians’ Ronaldo receives a pass during their Paulista (Sao Paulo State) Championship final  match against Santos FC in Pacaembu stadium in Sao Paulo, May 3, 2009. REUTERS/Junior Lago

UEFA’s teams of the year feature is irresistible reading for lovers of footballing gossip, particularly in Spain and Argentina.

Javier Zanetti, Leo Messi and Kun Aguero have all published their best XIs of 2008 on uefa.com and there are a couple of conspicious absentees…

Aguero could find no place for his countryman Messi, despite his brilliant form over the year, while Messi himself left out… Cristiano Ronaldo.

Here’s Aguero’s team: Cech; Sagna, Ferdinand, Carvalho, Evra; Ronaldo, Xavi, Fabregas, Ribery; Del Piero, Ibrahimovic.

There’s a little comment on each and here’s what he says about Ibrahimovic: “He has the ability to destabilise opponents. Next to Ronaldo he is the best player in the world at the moment. He is the complete striker.”

Ouch! Isn’t he forgetting someone?

Here’s Messi’s team of the year: Cech; Maicon, Ferdinand, Puyol, Van Bronckhorst; Zanetti, Xavi, Fabregas, Iniesta; Aguero, Rooney

Here’s what Messi says about Aguero: “I love him and not just because he’s Argentinian! He plays like the gods, has extraordinary quality and a great instinct for scoring goals.”

UEFA promise more teams from Marcos Senna and Pepe but the one I’d really like to see would be Ronaldo’s… Think he’d find space for Messi?

The pair will meet on Monday when the FIFA player of the year award is handed out. Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo (who presumably won’t be driving) is one of five nominees along with Messi.

PHOTO: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Lionel Messi pose after a press conference before the FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich Dec. 17, 2007. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Ronaldo is back. Nearly 10 months after suffering a serious knee injury during a Serie A game for AC Milan, the third such misfortune in his career, he has agreed terms to join Corinthians, one of Brazil’s biggest and most volatile clubs.

Even before the injury, Ronaldo had been struggling amid speculation he was overweight but had lost his hunger for the game. He had not been picked by Brazil since his much-criticised performance at the 2006 World Cup and was eventually off-loaded to Milan from Real Madrid less than six months later.

Now, after nearly a year of what he has described as a sacrifice, plus a highly-damaging incident involving three transvestites in Rio de Janeiro, Ronaldo is set for a comeback at the age of 32.

Few believe that he can get anywhere near the player who used to power his way past defenders before finding the back of the net with uncanny accuracy. Ronaldo, however, has proved the doubters wrong in the past. (more…)

When you manage just 22 minutes in a charity friendly, it is usually a bad sign.

Brazilian Ronaldo was huffing and puffing after his short cameo in Morocco on Monday against a Zinedine Zidane XI and now he is seriously considering retirement.

“I don’t know if I will continue playing or retire. I still haven’t taken a decision,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “There is no rush. I could decide tomorrow or in a month. I really don’t know.”

The friendly was his comeback after a stop-start recovery from a second serious knee injury, which he sustained playing for AC Milan in February.

Even before he collapsed to the ground in agony, it was clear he was never going to come close to recapturing the sparkling form he showed at Barcelona, Inter Milan and occasionally Real Madrid.

Weight problems, injuries and question marks over his motivation have heralded the fall from grace. Milan’s PR machine was very clever in not making any public comment, and therefore not looking heartless, when they allowed his contract to run out in June with the world hardly taking notice.

Without a club, Ronaldo has turned down a solitary offer from midtable Serie A side Siena. Manchester City and Flemengo have been mentioned in the media as possible destinations but there seems little movement.

Would Ronaldo be better packing in now rather than soldiering on at an unfashionable club just for the sake of it?

If he carries on, will we remember his decline rather the way he fought back from injury to shoot Brazil to 2002 World Cup glory?

PHOTO: Time ticking away? Ronaldo sits on cones during a training session at Flamengo. Sept 8, 2008. Ronaldo trained with the Brazilian club as he went through a rehabilitation programme after he ruptured a tendon in his left knee playing for AC Milan. REUTERS/Bruno Domingos

If you had told Rivaldo a few years ago that he would end up playing in Uzbekistan, it is doubtful he would have believed you.

Playing in Greece with Olimpiakos and AEK Athens was already an unusual place for the ageing former World Cup winner to wind down his career. Gary Lineker went to Japan, David Beckham to the U.S. but the Brazilian signing for Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor is something else.

At least Rivaldo has been totally open about his reason for going: Money. Uzbek clubs obviously have a lot of it. Kuruvchi managed to persuade Samuel Eto’o to go there last month to discuss a move before he ended up staying at Barcelona.

The Times has found another place where players who are probably past their best tend to head — Serie A. Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko are on the list but the proud Italians will point out that AC Milan shipped out Rivaldo long ago.

If former Milan striker and fallen idol Ronaldo appears at Manchester City, the (English-based) Times may have to eat some humble pie.

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: AEK Athens forward Rivaldo heads the ball against Getafe during a UEFA Cup match, Feb 21 REUTERS/Susana Vera