Liverpool have snapped up Real Madrid youngster Gerardo Bruna - regarded as the Spanish giants' brightest prospect.

The Mail on Sunday says Argentine midfielder Bruna, 16, was being nurtured by Madrid as a future Galactico, but Rafa Benitez's chief scout, Paco de Gracia, has persuaded the youngster to sign a four-year deal with Liverpool.

Real are smarting after being outwitted by their former employee, De Gracia, who originally discovered the teenager while he was working at the Bernabeu. Midfielder Bruna is regarded in the same league as Fabregas, who Arsenal took from Barcelona at the age of 16 in almost identical circumstances.