Diarra delighted after Lyon agree Madrid move

MADRID, Aug 19 (Reuters) Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra has said he is delighted that five-times French champions Olympique Lyon have given into his wishes and agreed to sell him to Real Madrid.

''I'm the happiest person in the world,'' the 25-year-old told today's Spanish sports daily AS. ''It was a dream for me to play for Real Madrid and at last I'm going to fulfil it.'' Under pressure from the player, who had threatened to go on strike, Lyon caved in and agreed to sell the holding midfielder to the Primera Liga side on Friday.

Diarra is expected in Madrid over the weekend to sort out final details of the move.

Neither side has revealed the fee but Spanish media say that Real have agreed to pay Lyon 26 million euros (.37 million), making Diarra the most expensive close-season signing in the Primera Liga.

Lyon were originally reported to have asked for over 35 million euros for the Mali international but Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon said they had settled for much less.

''We carried out the negotiations with great professionalism,'' he told sports daily Marca. ''We closed the deal for a figure that was considerably less than Lyon wanted.'' A key figure in the Lyon midfield, Diarra joined the French side from Vitesse Arnhem in 2002 and has won the last four Ligue 1 titles with the club.

If the deal goes through, he will become the fourth player to join the club since Calderon was elected president last month.

The nine-times European champions have also signed Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, Brazil midfielder Emerson from Juventus and Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United, spending 35 million euros on the trio.

Real, who have not won a major trophy since 2003, are also interested in Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger accused Real of unsettling the player without making an appropriate offer to buy him but Calderon is confident of making more signings.

''We can still sign more players and I think we will do so before the transfer deadline expires,'' he said on Friday.

Reuters PM DS1432