Lionel Messi to Real Madrid..ridiculous!!

Real Madrid are planning another record breaking transfer deal this summer with a £120million offer for Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

It is a deal which is designed to send shock waves through world football as Real Madrid plan to upset their fiercest rivals by going for their best player.

Real Madrid paid a world record £80m to Manchester United last summer for Cristiano Ronaldo but have struggled to topple Barcelona in La Liga.

The original plan was to make the £120million  offer - which is the buy-out figure written into Messi's contract - during the week of the Champions League final to detract from Barcelona playing in the Bernabeu.

But Barcelona's semi final exit has now meant they will not have to do it in that timescale but president Florentino Perez still intends to make a shock offer to show that Real Madrid mean business again this summer.

Last summer, Real Madrid spent in excess of £220million  on Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema, Alvaro Arbeloa and Raul Albiol.

But it has failed to deliver the Champions League to Real Madrid and now they plan to steal Barcelona's thunder by making a bid for Messi.

Real Madrid do not expect that Barcelona will agree to the sale and the bid will ultimately fail but it shows that they can still outgun when it comes to spending power.

Alan Shearer's view on England defence, Capello and Heskey!!

Shearer on...England defence

Alan Shearer says he would love to take on the current England defence – and has serious worries about how they will perform in South Africa.

He said: “England, at the moment, haven’t got a good defence.

“Ashley Cole would play but he’s not fully match fit. John Terry would play but he’s not having a good time. Rio Ferdinand’s not playing.

“Glen Johnson, who would play at right-back, has hardly played. There are questions that are going to be asked.

“And goalkeeper, for me, isn’t a strong point.

“So, would I love to have been up against a defence like that, going into a World Cup? Well, at the moment I wouldn’t mind.”

Shearer on..Ledley King

Geordie legend Shearer, who will be working as a BBC pundit during the tournament, wants Fabio Capello to put Ledley King on the plane.

“I am a big fan of Ledley King,” said Shearer. “On his day, I don’t think there are many better.

“But he can only play once a week. By his own admission, he can’t play two games in four, five days. That might have to happen with England.

“But if Capello is true to his word, and he picks players that are in form, then Michael Dawson for the last two or three months has been magnificent.

“Bearing in mind that at the beginning of the season, he probably wouldn’t have been in the team if Jonathan Woodgate and King were playing week-in, week-out.

“So he deserves tremendous credit for that.

“But I am a fan of Ledley King.”

Shearer on..Fabio Capello

“Capello’s been very successful so far with his methods and he’s not going to change, is he?” said Shearer

“His way has been very, very successful – so why would he?”

“There has been talk that he treats the players like schoolkids and they will be bored out in South Africa.

“But you are away with 23 of your mates. If you are getting results, it’s a lot easier.

“And the sooner they get the first game, they start playing, then it becomes a little bit easier.

“Then you are focused on the games. I don’t think that will be a problem at all.

“You are not in a bad hotel, are you? You are in a nice hotel, with a swimming pool and everything else.”

Capello has drawn up an initial list of 40 players, to be whittled down to 30 when the squad head to Austria for a pre-tournament training camp.

Shearer on...Walcott and Heskey

Shearer added: “I would take Theo Walcott because I think he brings something different. And I would play Emile Heskey.

“You have to forget about his goalscoring. He’s not a goalscorer.

“The team scores goals when Heskey plays - that is the most important thing.”