Reus ball firmly in Real's court

The Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling upholding Barca's transfer ban puts Real Madrid very much in the driving seat in the race for Marco Reus. The Borussia Dortmund star has informed the 'Azulgranas' that he is determined to move on at the end of this season - as MARCA revealed exclusively in a special report on 15th December - and so he will not wait around for the punishment to be lifted. As such, the 25-year-old now has one fewer name on his list of potential destinations.

The 'Los Blancos' higher-ups welcomed the CAS's decision as a personal victory of sorts precisely because it took Barcelona out of contention to land the in-demand German, who has a release clause that kicks in next summer enabling him to be signed for a cut-price €25 million.

There are a number of other clubs vying to snap up the goalscoring attacking midfielder, including powerhouses such as Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG and Bayern Munich, although Dortmund are believed to be hell-bent on avoiding losing another player to their Bundesliga rivals.

In any case, Real Madrid have a trump card in the shape of a verbal agreement between Florentino Perez and Dortmund president Reinhard Rauball, which gives 'Los Blancos' first dibs on the Germany international and the right to equal any offer that comes in for him.