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People who question whether Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo can still perform at the highest level are crazy, according to Athletic Bilbao forward Aritz Aduriz.

Ronaldo has netted 30 times for his club so far this season in just 29 matches and on Monday picked up the Pichichi Award at a ceremony in Madrid for finishing as the highest scorer last season.

Some critics say though that there is evidence the striker is on the wane since the turn of the year with many pointing to his record of scoring in just two of his last six matches. He cut a frustrating figure in the 2-1 win over Granada at the weekend even though Los Blancos won thanks to a brilliant late winner from Luka Modric.

But speaking to AS, 35-year-old Aduriz, who will likely feature for his side this weekend when they take on the 10-time Champions League winners, said to suggest Ronaldo or Barcelona rival Leo Messi are past it is crazy.

“Can Cristiano be questioned? It seems like an insult to me. We can’t question him for anything in the world. We’re very spoiled with Messi and Ronaldo. Their numbers are astronomical,” he was quoted as saying.

 

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Real Madrid have confirmed left back Marcelo has dislocated his shoulder and will be out for some time.

The defender came off with the problem in the win over Granada at the weekend and was assessed by the club’s medical staff in recent days. Tests on Tuesday revealed the dislocation, which could keep the Brazilian out of action for up to three weeks.

It will be a bitter blow for boss Zinedine Zidane, who will have to call on either Nacho Fernandez or Alvaro Arbeloa to fill in for the games against Athletic Bilbao this weekend and Roma next week in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 clash. His participation in the Madrid derby at the end of this month is also in doubt.

A statement on Real’s official website read: “After tests carried out today on the player Marcelo at the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, he has been diagnosed with a acromioclavicular shoulder joint dislocation. His recovery will continue to be assessed.”

Marcelo made the left back slot his own last season and the club decided to let Fabio Coentrao leave on loan to Monaco. Marcelo has featured 24 times for Los Blancos this season, netting two goals along the way.

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Eden Hazard - Antoine Griezmann
Eden Hazard challenges Antoine Griezmann during a friendly football match between France and Belgium - THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images

Neymar, Antoine Griezmann and Eden Hazard are the main candidates to become Cristiano Ronaldo’s successors at Real Madrid.

According to the latest transfer gossip, Florentino Perez is determined to start a new era for Los Blancos by selling the Portugal international next summer and signing a new and younger world-class star.

Neymar, Griezmann and Hazard are the top candidates to arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Perez can only afford to bring one of them, especially if he also wants to reinforce the striker position by signing Robert Lewandowski or Paulo Dybala.

Which of the three should Real Madrid sign? Let’s analyse them in detail:

Neymar

neymar-cc2
The Brazilian is without a doubt the best of the three, but he is also the most expensive. His buy-out clause is 190 million euros, which would make him by far the most expensive footballer in history. Plus, Perez would have to offer him a ridiculous amount to convince him to switch Barcelona for Los Blancos. Neymar is perhaps the only candidate whose dribbling and scoring skills can match those of Ronaldo. Neymar’s signing would be a morale booster for the team and the fans, just like Luis Figo’s arrival in 2000. However, the economic aspects of the transfer are the main obstacle, and the player will surely receive an interesting counter-offer from Barcelona.

Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann
Griezmann would be a cheaper option than Neymar. His current buy-out clause is 80 million euros, although Atletico Madrid are expecting to increase it to 100 million euros in the next few days. The Frenchman is a very versatile player, who could play as a winger of compliment Karim Benzema as a second striker. He is very technical sound, incredibly quick, and has great passing skills. As a team player, he is possibly the best option for Los Blancos. Having played under Diego Simeone for the past two years, he has learned to contribute in defending when needed. His arrival would also hur a direct rival for the La Liga title, but obviously Florentino Perez would rather upset Barca.

Eden Hazard

eden-hazard-cc
Hazard seems like the easiest target for Real Madrid to get. He is not happy at Chelsea at the moment, he has always dreamed of working with Zidane, and Roman Abramovich would be open to selling should a decent offer come up. Chelsea have not put a price tag on him, but Los Blancos directors believe they could bring him for 80 million euros. The Belgium international is surely a very talented player, with incredible dribbling and passing skills. However, there are some doubts about his potential, given the poor season he is completing in the Premier League.

There is no doubt that most Real Madrid fans would prefer to see Neymar arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu next summer, but obviously this is tremendously complicated. The Brazilian is also the first choice for Perez, but if he fails in convincing him to leave Barca, he will have to try with other candidates. Given the little price difference between Hazard and Griezmann, the Frenchman seems like a wiser option, since he is in the best shape of his career at the moment -and has been for the past year– and already knows La Liga and Madrid, so he wouldn’t require an adaptation period.

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Fabio Capello has warned Real Madrid not to underestimate Roma when the two sides meet in the Champions League next week.

Los Blancos are considered the favourites to progress but the Italian says the Seria A outfit are in good form and will be a tough opponent for the 10-time Champions League winners.

Real, who last won the trophy in 2014, will want to avoid being knocked out by Italian opposition for a second year in a row having been eliminated at the semi-final stage by Juventus last year.

“A month ago, Real Madrid were clear favourites, but they’re less relaxed now. Careful, careful, careful. Roma are dangerous. You can’t just think it’s an easy game. Watch out for Spalletti. Roma have won three games and implemented another playing style,” Capello told reporters.

He went on to add: “Roma are more confident and have more belief in their coach. They’re a much more organised team, one which presses much higher up. Roma wins the ball back quickly now. They’re a different team than before.”

Real visit Rome on 17th February for the first leg before entertaining the Seria A side on 8th March.

Roma are currently fifth in the table on 44 points after 25 games. They trail league leaders Napoli by 12 points.

 

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Alvaro Morata

Atletico Madrid are reportedly interested in signing former Los Blancos striker Alvaro Morata, Spanish radio station Onda Cero has claimed.

Real Madrid have a buy-back option on the Spanish forward and, according to the latest reports, they are willing to exert it only to sell him again.

Los Blancos would pay 32 million euros to bring Morata back to Madrid next summer, and then would seek to sell him for 50 million, potentially earning 18 million in a few days.

Atletico are looking for a striker after selling Jackson Martinez to Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao for 42 million euros. Their priority is to bring Diego Costa back from Chelsea. However, according to Onda Cero, Morata would be the next name on the list should Roman Abramovich refuse to negotiate for the Brazilian.

Thus, Atleti would very possibly have to negotiate with Florentino Perez, and they would have to offer around 50 million, an ammount they have never paid for any player. The most expensive transfer in Atletico’s history was Radamel Falcao, who cost 45 million euros.

Yet it is not clear whether Perez would actually be willing to sell Morata to their city rivals. He would possibly prefer to send him to the Premier League or to Paris Saint-Germain, rather than seeing Atletico reinforce their squad with such a talented player.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has rubbished reports he could leave Real Madrid this summer by claiming he will see out his contract which has another two years to run.

The 31-year-old striker has been linked with a return to former club Manchester United, while French side PSG are also keen to secure his signature. Other reports have suggested the Portugal captain will follow the likes of ex-Real players David Beckham, Raul and Kaka in moving to the USA to play for an MLS side.

But speaking at the La Liga awards on Monday, where Ronaldo picked up the Pichici award for ending last season as top scorer with 48 goals, he said he would remain in the Spanish capital at least until the end of his deal which runs out in 2018.

He stated: “I want to stay here for two more years, and then we’ll see about the future. That’s the contract that I’ve got. Now what I have to do is try to win trophies and the Champions League once again.”

And he added: “I’ve spent seven years in Spain and for me La Liga is the best in the world. I also spent six years in England, in Manchester, and this league is wonderful, very competitive, with great players and, for me, it’s a privilege to be here and to leave my mark, which has been very good.”

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Football Leaks has released new information as part of it’s work to improve transparency in the game and this time has revealed details of David de Gea’s contract with Real Madrid – a deal that never happened.

The Manchester United shot stopper was on the verge of joining Los Blancos last summer in what was the most drawn out saga over the transfer window.

But despite having all the documents signed, including his contract with the 10-time Champions League winners, he never arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu because late paperwork meant the deal happened after the close of the window.

United blamed it in Real, while Los Blancos said the Red Devils were too slow. A dodgy fax machine was also blamed at one point over the embarrassing saga involving two of the world’s richest clubs.

The details of the latest leak reveal de Gea would have signed with Real until the end of the 2021 season. He was due to receive a basic salary of 11 million euros a year over the course of the six year deal with additional bonuses being paid depending on how successful he was with the club.

Since the collapse of the transfer, de Gea has signed a new four-year deal at Old Trafford, ending speculation surrounding his future.

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Former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti says he loved every minute of his experience managing the club but is now looking forward to a new challenge.

The Italian was in charge of the Santiago Bernabeu side for two years and lead the clubs to four trophies – the Champions League, Copa del Rey, European Super Cup and World Club Cup.

But he was sacked at the end of last season for failing to land the major honours as Real has to sit back and watch Barcelona sweep the board.

After taking a year out from the game, Ancelotti will return to management when he takes over Bayern Munich in the summer.

Speaking at an award ceremony in Madrid on Monday, Ancelotti said: “I was lucky enough to coach a wonderful Real Madrid side and this makes me feel very happy about what we experienced. Living here in Madrid was fantastic, but one door closes while another opens. That’s the life of a coach.”

He added: “When I signed my contract I knew I’d have to leave one day but now a new stage is starting and I don’t know when it’ll end.”

The former boss also discussed Zinedine Zidane’s appointment as manager and says his inexperience could actually help him.

He commented: “The best thing you can say about Zidane is that he doesn’t have experience, just like when I started coaching or playing. Zidane has everything you need to be a great coach. He has the ability, charisma, personality and knows football inside-out. Zidane has the profile of a Real Madrid coach. A coach succeeds by working hard to ensure his players give their all.”

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Adalberto Penaranda
Venezuela's Adalberto Penaranda vies for the ball with Colombia's Davinson Sanchez during their South American U-20 football match at Domingo Burgueno stadium in Maldonado - Getty Images

Venezuelan pearl Adalberto Penaranda has become one of the most sought-after young talents in Europe in his first season as a professional footballer.

The 18-year-old is completing a superb season for Granada in La Liga and he has caught the attention of many European giants, including Real Madrid.

Spanish sports newspaper AS has revealed that Penaranda was close to becoming a Real Madrid player back in 2013, and now Los Blancos could be considering to try it again.

AS has reported that Penaranda was picked among 5,000 kids for a trial with Los Merengues. The footballer travelled to Madrid but didn’t stand out in the training session, but that was not the reason why Los Blancos decided not to sign him.

According to AS, Real directors ruled out Penaranda’s signing for the threat of a transfer ban, as the kid was only 15 years old and FIFA’s rules forbid the transfer.

After that, Penaranda went back to South America and ended up signing for Udinese before moving to Granada.

Early this week, Watford reached a deal to sign the Venezuelan, leaving him on loan at Granada until the end of the season. However, Los Blancos directors have surely not forgotten about the talented striker and will probably contact him should he continue improving his game.

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Luka Modric says the goal he scored against Granada on Sunday evening was one of the best he’s ever netted.

The Croatian rifled home from outside the are with five minutes to go to secure a 2-1 victory for Los Blancos and help them keep up the pressure on Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid in the table.

Karim Benzema had given the visitors the lead on the half hour mark with his eighth goal in six appearances before the hosts cancelled out the lead after 60 minutes.

But Modric popped up with the winner at the death to hand Zinedine Zidane a fourth victory in five games since taking over as Real Madrid manager.

The hero on the day said: “I’m sure it has been one of my best goals and it proved decisive. I’m very happy to have scored the goal and with the team’s performance. The manager said before the game that I have to shoot more and in the end I’ve scored that goal. We’ve had ups and downs, we suffered as a team and in the end we won, that was really important”.

And he added: “You can’t expect to score lots of goals in every game, football isn’t like that. Today we showed character and we created a lot of clear chances but we didn’t score and that’s the difference. Two goals away from home is very good. We can still improve a lot defensively as well as in attack, but physically we’re stronger and I’m sure we are going to play better in the coming games”.

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