Perez close to landslide victory in Real election as Davids moves to Inter

FLORENTINO PEREZ is close to a landslide victory in his bid to be re-elected as Real Madrid president.

A poll run by Spanish sports daily Marca showed that of 1300 club members who had voted yesterday, 1,216 said they had given their

support to Perez, 51 to former president Lorenzo Sanz and 33 to third candidate Arturo Baldasano.

“The club members know what my aims are and they know that if they support me Real Madrid will construct a team that will make

history by recruiting the best players in the world every year.”

He made no promises about which new players he might sign, but has admitted that he has been negotiating with European champions Porto to bring in defender Ricardo Carvalho and midfielder Costinha.

Dutch international Edgar Davids has joined Inter Milan on a three-year deal after his loan period with Barcelona finished at the end of last season.

Meanwhile, Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has turned down the chance of returning home to coach Germany.

Franz Beckenbauer, who heads a commission at the German Football Association (DFB) charged with finding a successor to Rudi Voeller said: “I had a long conversation with Dr Rehhagel and unfortunately he turned us down. He said ‘For three years I have built up a team out of nothing and led it to the European championship and I cannot leave this team on its own’.”

The DFB was dangling a E2.5 million a year contract before Rehhagel.