Fabio Coentrao to join Real Madrid from Benfica for £27m

Real Madrid are to sign Portugal left-back Fabio Coentrao from Benfica for 30 million euros (£27m).

The deal is subject to him passing a medical and agreeing personal terms with the Spanish club, who finished second in La Liga last season.

Coentrao, who impressed at last year's World Cup and is regarded as one of the most promising left-backs in Europe, had a contract with Benfica until 2016.

The 23-year-old becomes the Spanish club's fifth summer signing.
Top 10 most expensive defenders
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1 - Rio Ferdinand £29.1m (Leeds United to Manchester United, 2002)

2 - Fabio Coentrao £27m (Benfica to Real Madrid, 2011)

3 - Pepe £25m (Porto to Real Madrid, 2007)

4 - Daniel Alves £23.5m (Sevilla to Barcelona, 2008)

5 - Dmytro Chygrynskiy £22.5m (Shakhtar Donetsk to Barcelona, 2009)

=6 - Joleon Lescott £22m (Everton to Manchester City, 2009)

=6 - Lilian Thuram £22m (Parma to Juventus, 2001)

8 - David Luiz £21.3 (Benfica to Chelsea, 2011)

9 - Alessandro Nesta £21m (Lazio to AC Milan, 2002)

10 - Ricardo Carvalho £20m (Porto to Chelsea, 2004)

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has already boosted his midfield options by signing Turkey internationals Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop.

They will be joined at the Bernabeu by winger Jose Callejon from Espanyol and the young French defender Raphael Varane, who has signed from Lens.

Coentrao began his professional career at Portuguese club Rio Ave in 2005 before moving to Benfica in 2007 as a winger.

He failed to make an impact in his first season, leading to loan spells at Nacional, Zaragoza and Rio Ave.

In 2009, Benfica coach Jorge Jesus recalled Coentrao and converted him into a speedy left-back.

He has since become one of Benfica's best players, playing a crucial role in helping the club win the Portuguese league in 2010 for the first time in five years.

Coentrao's club form earned him a place in the national team and he impressed at last year's World Cup where Portugal reached the last 16 before losing 1-0 to eventual champions Spain.