Santos reject Real offer
Santos have rejected Real Madrid's bid for defender Alex, claiming they value the player at the $23 million (£12.5 million) reportedly offered by Chelsea for Bayer Leverkusen's Lucio.
Real have been monitoring the imposing 21-year-old stopper for some time as they look to bring in defensive reinforcements, and are reported to have tabled an initial $8.8 million (£4.8 million) bid.
Los Merengues' need for a central defender has been well-documented as the club have still to bring in a replacement for stalwart Fernando Hierro who departed the club in the summer.
The reigning Spanish champions have used a number of players in the central defensive berths this term including Ivan Helguera, Francisco Pavon and Raul Bravo, but seem to have identified the highly-rated Alex as their chief transfer target.
However, the player's club Santos claim they will not do business unless the Spaniards considerably up their offer, and insist the youngster is worth at least as much as Lucio.
"Alex is actually the best central defender that exists in Brazil and we are not going to let him go just like that," stated Santos director Francisco Lopes.
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