Neymar remains top transfer target as Real Madrid bid to rebuild after Cristiano Ronaldo departure

Real Madrid are still aiming to bring in two “Galacticos” this summer to both replace Cristiano Ronaldo and symbolise the start of a new era at the club, as they seek to reshape the team.

The Independent has been told that Neymar remains the principal target for this summer, with sources from both the Bernabeu and Paris Saint-Germain stating there is still almost “daily” contact between intermediaries to try and do a deal.

Eden Hazard is Madrid’s next target, although those close to Chelsea say the Stamford Bridge hierarchy are adamant they will not sell.

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Both purchases are seen as very difficult to pull off this summer, but this has not dissuaded president Florentino Perez, who remains confident that Madrid can complete deals “other clubs can’t”.

The reality of that will be tested over the next few weeks, in a window that is only further complicated by the fact the Premier League has voted to close business three weeks before the rest of Europe.

Perez only last week promised more “magnificent players”, and if they struggle to do deals for Neymar or Hazard in this window, an alternative option might be Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker now greatly wants to move for a change of scenery in his career.

Lewandowski turns 30 in August and, although that would not quite represent the fresh new image that Madrid now want to put forward, his signing could represent a temporary option until they can eventually sign stars like Neymar and Hazard in the future.