Valdano said the club had an "ideal formation" that it was working toward but that the final squad was going to take shape slowly.

"We see how difficult it is both to buy and sell players today. We have important players which is fortunate, but the hardest part will be shedding players we won't be requiring," Valdano said.

Benzema said he had also been contacted by Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona, but opted for Madrid as his preferred destination.

The player arrived in the morning and was driven from the airport to a Madrid hotel to meet coach Manuel Pellegrini before going to a private clinic in the northwest of the capital normally used by the club for its medical assessments.