Real head to pre-season training camp in Ireland

Real Madrid departed Monday for Ireland where the Spanish giants will stage a pre-season training camp in the wake of a recruitment drive that saw them sign Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo.

New coach Manuel Pellegrini took 30 players with him to Dublin for the nine-day camp which gets underway on Tuesday and includes a friendly match against current Irish champions Shamrock Rovers on July 20.

But Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who Real are seeking to sell, stayed behind at the last minute, the online editions of sports dailies AS and Marca reported, suggesting his transfer may be imminent.

Spanish media reported over the weekend that Real and German side VfB Stuttgart had agreed a fee for Huntelaar.

Brazilian playmaker Kaka, who Real signed from AC Milan for 65 million euros, will also miss the training camp as will Spanish internationals Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Raul Albiol.

The four players were given extra vacation time since they played for their national teams at the Confederations Cup in south Africa. They will join Real at the end of the month.

Pellegrini said Sunday that he hopes the squad will be completed when all of the internationals return to the squad at the end of the month. He said the team needed two midfielders and a full back.

“The sooner the better. July 27 would be good because that’s when all our internationals return,” he said when asked for an ideal date to have his squad finalised during his first post-training press conference as Real’s new coach.

Among the candidates cited as possible recruits are France’s Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich, Spaniards Xabi Alonso of Liverpool and Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal as well as Italy’s Gaetano d’Agostino of Udinese.

Real have spent around 220 million euros (305 million dollars) on new recruits since construction magnate Florentino Perez returned to the presidency of the club last month.

The club’s spending spree on Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzima, Raul Albiol and others has created congestion in the locker room and it hopes to unload about a dozen players, which is proving to be difficult under current market conditions.

Among the possible departures are Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo and Malian defender Mahamadou Diarra.