To be honest, I am not sure why this is so surprising to many of you. Though I hear what Zach is saying about a "friendly" way of hard negotiating, I actually agree with Real Madrid here that it wouldn't be appropriate to unload a fairly high profile player before they sign a new coach. Right now, Real Madrid's highest priority should be signing a manager. If they start selling players before locking in the manager, the club will look some what in disarray.
I wouldn't be surprised if the deal is (or is close) to being in place, but it wouldn't be professional to make this transaction until their highest priority (ala the beginning of the new regime) is in place. This is very similar to how American Professional Sports conduct business.