Florentino Perez close to signing Sevilla sporting director Monchi

Sevilla sporting director Monchi is close to moving to Real Madrid. A few days ago, 'Canal Sur' revealed that Los Blancos wanted him and had began to make the move. It's true. Monchi is in talks with Madrid and Florentino Perez for a deal which will only go through if Sevilla agree to let him leave. Monchi would become the director of a new sporting department at Madrid and would have the power to restructure the squad.

Perez has never worked well with a sporting director. The president, along with the manager, decides on the signings with the help of advisors and scouts. The previous sporting directors -- or people given a similar role -- have ended up leaving due to a lack of confidence being shown in them. Now it seems things would change with the arrival of Monchi. The Sevilla sporting director will only make the move if he is given relevant powers. 

The figure of Monchi has always created a lot of interest in the market due to the success he's had with Sevilla. Various clubs have tried to lure him away in the past. In fact, last season, Monchi was close to signing for Everton, but Sevilla demanded five million euros and the operation did not go through. More recently there have been talks with Roma, but the Madrid developments have stopped everything. In any case, it remains to be seen how Sevilla will let things play out. Monchi hasn't wanted to speak about his future beyond this season and even speculated he could take a year out if Sevilla don't play ball. 

Monchi was also on Barça's shortlist a couple of years ago. After the sacking of Andoni Zubizarreta, Josep Maria Bartomeu had to bring in a new sporting director. At first he brought in Ariedo Braida as an advisor before the elections -- Braida went on to become director of international football -- and then took a bet on Robert Fernandez.