PEREZ WANTS COSTA-FIGO LINK UP
Zinedine Zidane was the prime target, but he has made it clear that he wants to see out the remainder of his career in Italy.
Therefore, Perez has switched targets and intends bringing Rui Costa to El Santiago Bernabeau.
Perez's dream is to link Costa in midfield with his Portuguese team-mate Luis Figo. The two players are great friends, and Perez believes that could be the key to clinching the deal.
Fiorentina are having problems at the moment, and Real Madrid are looking to take advantage of that.
La Viola's Turkish coach Fatih Terim is not happy, and with the summer departure of Gabriel Batistuta to Roma, the fans have made Rui Costa their idol.
The club's president Vittorio Cecchi Gori is also under fire from the fans, with Terim set to leave in the summer and the possibility of Fiore being viewed as a selling club again.
Therefore if they do accept a pending offer from Madrid, there will be uproar.
Rui Costa, who has also been restless at Fiorentina, did actually extend his contract last season, but he may welcome a change of scenery as well as the chance to play Champions League football again.
Johan Cruyff tried to bring Rui Costa to Spain to join Barcelona, when he was playing for Benfica, now Real are hoping they can pull off another spectacular deal.
