HOT FOOTBALL GOSSIP: Hazard, Ronaldo, Neymar

It’s hard to know when Paris Saint-Germain plan to stop spending ridiculous amounts of money on football stuff. Maybe never, maybe when they win the Champions League or maybe when they’ve won their 35th Ligue 1 title in a row. What we do know is that the Qatari-backed French club are determined to spend more and more cash, and their transfer targets appear to be getting increasingly prestigious. Today, for example, they are being tipped to sign Cristiano Ronaldo AND Eden Hazard.

Let’s start with Hazard, who the Daily Mail says PSG believe they are at “the front of the queue” to sign. The Chelsea midfielder was previously said to favour a move to Real Madrid, but even Los Blancos can’t compete with the financial might of a Qatari prince. The Mail describes PSG as “serious competitors” to Madrid in the battle to sign Hazard, while the Belgian’s £80m price tag will seem like a bargain to the Qataris because it’s only £30m more than they paid for David Luiz.

Meanwhile, Laurent Blanc’s side remain favourites to sign Ronaldo from Madrid, and that’s according to the BBC, no less. Spain-based European football expert Graham Hunter told 5 live Sport that Manchester United are a less attractive proposition for the Portuguese forward because “the team he fell in love with has completely gone” and there is no guarantee of winning things at Old Trafford. Compare that to a few years at PSG, where a forward line of Hazard, Cavani and Ronaldo would win Ligue 1 by even more points than normal.

Chelsea fans upset about all these Hazard rumours may be encouraged to hear that the club has made a bid for Barcelona star Neymar, reports Brazilian media outlet Sambafoot.com. The less-encouraging part is that the club’s £25m offer was made five years ago while Neymar was still at Santos, and it was rejected anyway. Sorry if we got your hopes up there, guys.

Arsenal are set to sign Real Madrid’s Jese, according to the Metro, which claims the Spanish club are ready to accept a bid of £21.1m for the winger. It doesn’t actually say the Gunners are ready to make a bid of £21.1m, just that if they do it will be accepted. Worth knowing.

Manchester United are in a similar position with Mario Gomez, who Turkish media says they can sign for £14m from Besiktas if they want. The German international striker is currently on loan at the Turkish club from Fiorentina, but apparently the deal will become permanent at the end of the season, at which points Besiktas will happily flog him to United for £14m. Confusing.

But not as confusing as claims made by the Evening Standard that Tottenham are interested in Fulham striker Moussa Dembele, 19, despite already having midfielder Mousa Dembele, 28, in their ranks.

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