Valdano: Real have given up on signing Villa

Real Madrid have confirmed they have abandoned their pursuit of highly-rated Valencia striker David Villa after clinching a deal to sign Olympique Lyonnais forward Karim Benzema.

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Benzema agreed a €35m (£29.7m) deal with the Spanish club on Wednesday and Madrid's director general Jorge Valdano said that his capture, along with that of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, means they don't need another goalscorer.

"Benzema fulfils the goal of having a striker, a goal scorer who brings a lot of presence and aggression to the forward line," Valdano said.

When asked if the French international's arrival had put an end to their bid for Villa the Real chief said: "Benzema and Villa both have these [goal scoring] characteristics so the answer to your question is yes."

Last month it appeared that Madrid were on the verge of signing Villa from cash-strapped Los Che but the club decided not to sell their star player at the last moment and Real later declared the deal to be "100% finished".

Meanwhile, former Valencia defender Raul Albiol has become the latest player to be presented to the fans at the Santiago Bernabeu following his €15m (£13m) switch from the Estadio Mestalla.

The Spain international, who has recently returned from the Confederations Cup in South Africa, said: "I don't have to say that I'm very happy to be here. It comes with great pride to be welcomed like that."