With the idleness of Christmas break having set in, it's time for another year to pass by.. and for another transfer window to open. Outlandish deals, conspiracy theories, phantom transfers, unsettled players/agents - the drama that unfolds in a month like this follows it own, unique script.

It's hard to imagine how or where this Madrid team can change, where additions can fit in or where the flab can be shed. Indeed, it seems a tad callous to talk of spending millions in this economic climate, all while your team is at the top of the table, and a full 3 points ahead of Barcelona, no less. But the fact remains, something is still lacking - Mourinho knows it, as does all of the Bernabeu.

Curiously enough, though, Real Madrid has been linked with two sales, with the players in question being Kaka and (surprisingly) Gonzalo 'El Pipita' Higuain.

Kaka's has been a tragedy of epic proportions - a huge transfer fee, involving a hugely likeable player who everyone (including neutrals) wanted to see doing well. But when the minutes on the pitch came, so did the injuries. After a point, no one could blame him if he wanted to leave, as his spell in white had irrevocably tarnished the reputation he'd built up over most of the last decade. But he stuck to his guns in an interview earlier in the season; he wanted to leave only after he'd succeeded in Madrid, he said. The increasingly lackluster showings by Mesut Ozil, coupled with Kaka's impressive cameos, gave reason for hope. That is, of course, before he got injured again. Apparently he's up for sale, at a € 30 million - a heavy loss on Real Madrid's investment on him, but an apparent attempt to cut losses before his injuries made his sale impossible. Arsenal has been touted as a possible contender for his signature, but their infamous frugality makes this a rumor that can be taken with a pinch of salt. The same can't be said about AC Milan, the club that made him who he is. They need a player like him, they have the means and they never stopped adoring him.

All that makes one wonder what might have been, if his injuries hadn't hampered his career with us to the extent that they did.

El Pipita's exit rumors are rather stranger, though. Apparently unhappy about being made to play second fiddle to Benzema in the Clasico, he apparently wants to leave, and Chelsea have been touted as a possible destination. The reported €35 million asking price, as low as it sounds for a player of his caliber, wouldn't be a hurdle for Chelsea (who desperately need strikers soon - Drogba leaves for the African Cup of Nations, and is 33, and Torres is a well documented disaster). But is there a genuine possibility for this transfer to go through? Higuain is almost a youth product, by our standards, and an extremely popular player among the Bernabeu junta too. Surely he'd not leave when a club like ours considers him its own? Then again, sentimentality has counted for little in football in the recent past, and fans can know little about the machinations underway behind the scenes in the dressing room.

On the other hand, a more practical view would be that his departure would leave Benzema as the only out-and-out forward in our ranks. Unless a striker with the requisite caliber arrives to make up for him leaving, would Mourinho really sanction such a sale?

January is going to be interesting, folks. Hala Madrid!