Real Madrid's moves have everyone wanting to cash in

As Massimo Moratti, Inter Milan's president, neatly summed it up: "During the transfer window, a headline in a newspaper is enough to transform groundless rumors into truth."

All the same, one change is locked in stone.

Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, now a free agent, has thumbed his nose at a five-year, $180,000-a-week contract offered by English champion Manchester United and is trying to line up a move to either Manchester City or Chelsea.

Also seeking greener pastures is Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has grown bored with Italian champion Inter Milan even though he is the Italian league's highest-paid player at a reported $15 million a year and was the top goal scorer in Serie A last season.

"Many people criticized me when I arrived in Italy," he told Sky Italia after Inter's fourth successive title was won. "They said I was a fantastic player but couldn't score goals. Now I am the Serie A top scorer. I showed them who I am. I can't do any better than this. I really don't know what else I can still do in Italy."

But the brakes have been put on Ibrahimovic's moving anywhere because Inter has said it would expect to receive the same $131 million for the Swede that Real Madrid paid for Ronaldo.

If Real Madrid balks at the asking price, Chelsea might not, especially if it can get a substantial discount by sending Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba to Inter Milan to join his former coach, Jose Mourinho, as part of the deal.

Whether Chelsea would also want Inter's Brazilian defender Maicon, who has a $55-million price tag, is unclear.

Another club that had been interested in Ibrahimovic was Barcelona, the defending Spanish and European champion. It dangled Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o plus cash in front of Inter Milan in a failed bid to land Ibrahimovic.

The deal might still happen, but with Manchester City apparently willing to splash out a substantial sum for Eto'o, nothing is certain for the moment.

--

Mexico gets ready

Chances are, Mexico Coach Javier Aguirre will be tuning in to watch today's Confederations Cup final between the U.S. and Brazil in South Africa. After all, Aguirre's team will be playing the Americans in a key World Cup qualifier on Aug. 12 in Mexico City.

This is the last chance Aguirre will have to see the "real" U.S. squad because Coach Bob Bradley has plucked 23 players, the majority out of MLS, for the CONCACAF Gold Cup that begins Friday.