'I know who will be the new coach and I'm not going to name any names,' Martin told Spanish daily El Mundo in an interview published on Wednesday.

Martin, who took over as president last month following the resignation of Florentino Perez, did, however, make it clear that the new boss would exercise greater power than he did under his predecessor.

'I've scoured the globe to glean information on all the possible candidates and I've got one thing completely clear. The new coach will be more powerful and will play a fundamental role in the construction of the squad,' he said.

'It shouldn't be the case that the coach pulls in one direction and the club in another...he should have a lot of weight and there should not be too many people in his way.'

Leading candidates for the post of Real coach such as AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Liverpool's Rafa Benitez have all ruled themselves out of the job.

Juventus coach Fabio Capello, who led Real to the league title in 1997, has hinted he will remain with the Serie A club, leaving former coach Vicente del Bosque, ex-Real Madrid players Bernd Schuster and Hugo Sanchez and departing England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson as the favourites for the job.