Olympique Lyon have agreed to let Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra join Real Madrid, the five-times French champions said on Friday.
The clubs have agreed an undisclosed fee and Diarra will move providing he agrees personal terms, said a Lyon spokesman.
Diarra is expected in Madrid at the weekend to sort out the final details.
Real president Ramon Calderon told Spain's Radio Marca his club had agreed to buy the 25-year-old.
Marca said Real would pay around 25 million euros ($32.09 million) for the holding midfielder, who joined Lyon in 2002 from Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem and won the last four Ligue 1 titles with the club.
Earlier this week, Calderon said new coach Fabio Capello had asked the club to focus on recruiting Diarra.
Diarra was quoted as saying in French sports daily L'Equipe on Wednesday that he wanted to join Real and was prepared to consider going on strike to force the deal through.
"An offer from a club like Real Madrid happens once in your career," he said.
If the deal goes through, Diarra will become the fourth player to join the club since Calderon was elected president last month.
The nine-times European champions have also signed Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Brazil midfielder Emerson from Juventus and Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United, spending a combined 35 million euros on the trio.
Real, who have not won a major trophy since 2003, are also interested in Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes, who wants to return to his native Spain.
