Madrid face £26m fine over Ronaldo...

The Cristiano Ronaldo-to-Real Madrid transfer circus has broken bizarre new ground with claims that it will cost the Spanish giants £26m NOT to sign the Manchester United winger.

The outlandish allegation came to light during an interview with the Spanish club's new vice-president, Fernando Tapias, in which he said Real would be hit by a finacial penalty contained in the famous alleged 'pre-contract' between the club's former president Ramon Calderon and Ronaldo's representative Jorge Mendes.

When asked by Spanish radio if the deal stated Madrid would either have to pay €90m to sign Ronaldo or a €30m penalty if they did not, Tapias responded: "Yes... but that is not our fault..."

With Kaka set to leave the San Siro for Real Madrid this summer AC Milan are on the hunt for a big name replacement and appear to have set their sights on Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor. The Kaka deal is expected to earn the Italians £56m - more than enough to finance a move for the Arsenal star, who was close to leaving the Emirates last year and has a fractious relationship with Gunners fans...

Arsene Wenger may face losing a striker but he has made bolstering his defence a priority this summer and has set his sights on Barcelona's Yaya Toure and Udinese defender Cristian Zapata if the player is to be believed.

The Arsenal boss is said to be preparing a £12 million bid to reunite Yaya with his brother Kolo Toure at the Emirates. However, the Barcelona player's impressive showing in the Champions League may mean that he has to significantly up his valuation of the player. Although he is primarily a midfielder Yaya has adapted to a role in central defence and were he to join Arsenal could team up with his brother in the Gunners defence.

Meanwhile 22-year-old Zapata has linked himself with Arsenal and several other clubs: "Juventus, Fiorentina, Milan, Arsenal and Villarreal have requested information about me." His current club are said to have turned down a £9.5million bid from Arsenal for him last summer because they felt the sum was "inappropriate". The Colombian international  joined the Italian club from home club Deportivo Cali in 2005 and is under contract until 2013. ·