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Real Madrid lost their third game of the pre-season (1-0), this time against Tottenham Hotspur at the Audi Cup in Munich. Los Blancos don’t know how to win in this summer after the defeats against Bayern Munich, Atlético de Madrid and the draw against Arsenal after losing 2-0. Only Keylor Navas showed a good level, avoiding another shameful result.

After the terrible defeat against Atlético de Madrid (3-7), Los Blancos tried to clean their image against Tottenham Hotspur with a very defensive and conservative strategy but things didn’t work out. The Spurs had the control of the game and only Keylor Navas avoided a terrible defeat with many saves to Harry Kane actions.

However, it was the British striker the one who decided the game in the 22nd minute of the game. Marcelo made another terrible mistake -he’s not keeping the level to play in a team like Real Madrid-, and Kane found the net with a top level definition. Los Blancos reacted a bit after the goal and Benzema had the best chance in the first half, but still not enough to hurt Tottenham.

Zinedine Zidane didn’t make any changes until the 80th minute except the entrance of Vinicius Jr, still far away from his performances last year. However, the problem is clearly in the midfield, where Kroos and Modric are unable to hold the team, in the defense line, with Marcelo or Sergio Ramos showing weaknesses, and in the attacking line, with Los Blancos unable to score the few chances they have.

Besides, there are many players far from their level, as it happened last year. Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Lucas, Nacho or Isco are some of the more evident ones. Given these games, there is not much optimism ahead of the season, although Zinedine Zidane still is convinced that the team can work. Pogba, James Rodriguez and probably some other players are needed, whereas it’s time to talk with the more experienced one and ask them about their loyalty to the club. Are they really able to get again the level they achieved some three years ago?

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Luckily we are in July and it’s still very soon, but the Real Madrid Tour around the United States can be labelled as terrible. Two defeats and one draw against Arsenal is the balance after three bad games, with the alarms already going off. The last drop in the tank was the humiliating defeat (3-7) against Atlético de Madrid after a shameful first half where Los Blancos got five goals.

Real Madrid are back now in Europe and their next test will be on Tuesday against Tottenham Hotspur, another tough rival. Zinedine Zidane needs to make many changes in the team, starting with the formation, continuing with the names and especially in the mentality. Los Blancos are starting the games completely asleep, getting goals in the first moments of every game, something similar to what happened last year.

Zizou promised many changes last year, but the same players are on the pitch again. Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos or Modric showed a very low level against Atlético de Madrid whereas Hazard is the only signing with a spot in the line-up. Besides, also Thibaut Courtois is far from his level, so perhaps Keylor Navas should have more opportunities in the team.

The coach is not using the young generation pushing behind. Rodrygo, Kubo or Vinicius Junior are not having enough minutes in these pre-season games, whereas the veteran ones are still unable to display a good level. Same can be said for Isco Alarcón, a player who was heavily criticized in the past with his attitude towards Santiago Solari and whose level is far from good.

Giving all these conditions, something must change before the start of the season in mid August. Los Blancos are still trying to sign Paul Pogba and it’s sure that the midfield needs a push. Casemiro -still on holidays- is missed, but Modric and Kroos need to wake up and get to their level. Otherwise, the team won’t work and the problems that we saw last season will appear soon again.

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The Exit Operation continues at Real Madrid with Dani Ceballos departure to London. The Andalusian player will go on loan to Arsenal for the next season, but the gunners won’t keep and buy clause, so Ceballos will go back to Madrid in June 2020. This should be a good operation for all three parties.

Dani Ceballos highlighted this summer in the European Under 21 in Italy, where Spain got the title. The midfielder was the leader of the team and showed once more that he is able to lead an important team and look for new challenges. For this reason, Ceballos was looking for new opportunities outside Real Madrid and Arsenal could be the right place for him.

“Emery was the turning point to decide Arsenal”, Ceballos said in his first words as gunner. The former Betis player would follow his friend José Antonio Reyes steps and will join the North London team. The Spanish manager asked for Ceballos, so the midfielder should have many minutes in a top Premier League team, perfect to continue his development as a player.

Ceballos has contract with Real Madrid until 2023, so he has time to go back and triumph with Los Blancos. It was pretty clear that Zinedine Zidane doesn’t trust him yet, so the loan solution is the best for everybody. Even last season, Ceballos had good moments with Lopetegui, but soon enough he started to disappear from the line-ups.

Now the next season should be his turning point. Ceballos needs to show in a top league that he is able to play at Real Madrid and show his quality with more continuity, his main problem at the moment. Besides, he is supposed to be Modric replacement in the squad, and so far he’s been unable to fill the Croatian footballer gap when he was not available.

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Marco Asensio serious injury in his knee means that Real Madrid would need to change their plans for the new season. The Mallorca born player had a spot in the right wing of the attacking line, open to many new players. Should Los Blancos trust in the youngsters, the veterans or sign new players?

Asensio was diagnosed with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament and the external meniscus of his left knee. This means that he won´t be back until sprint 2020, missing the whole season, so Los Blancos need to find a replacement in the current squad or look out in the market, something really unnecessary given the options. What should Zidane do?

The easiest option is to look to Gareth Bale. The Welshman has the two feet outside Madrid but he did a great game against Arsenal and his departure is difficult. Could he still convince Zidane? The true is that this looks very unlikely, as the relationship looks completely broken. James Rodríguez can also be redeemed as his role can be used in the team, but also very unlikely.

Another player like Isco could have even more minutes. The Malaga born player still looks unfit for the team, but ZZ trusts him, and he could be a great replacement for Asensio, especially given the poor performance showed by Lucas Vázquez in the last months.

Before going to the market, Zizou can also look at the bench and see all the young players available. The first one is Vinicius Junior, one of the best players last season. Brahim also looked confident at the end of the previous season. Kubo or Rodrygo had less chances, but they can enjoy some minutes and show their quality.

There are many options available in Zidane’s hands to cover this important injury. Probably, a combined one would be the preferred one until someone highlights and earns his place in the starting eleven, like Vinicius did last season.

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The most important thing in friendly games is that no player gets injured. So we had the worst news in the second pre-season match for Los Blancos, where they drew (2-2) against Arsenal at Washington after losing 2-0 in the first 25 minutes of the game. However, Marco Asensio’s injury is the worst news possible.

Especially because it looks very very serious. The Mallorca-born player came in in the pitch in the second half and was highlighting, he even scored the equalizer but his knee suffered when he was trying to defend. Quickly he put his hands on the knee and everybody else put their hands on the head. Marco Asensio seems to have broken the crossed ligament of his knee, so we can be talking about six-months injury. Terrible news for this start of the season.

Related to the game, Zidane tried with Jovic and Benzema in the attacking line, and Mendy in the left-back. However, everything needed to be changed after the referee sent off Nacho for handball. Lacazette scored the penalty and soon enough Aubameyang open the gap in the scoreboard. It didn’t look well after 30 minutes, 2-0 and one player less.

However, Los Blancos reacted and they started to play better. This time, the referee sent Sokratis to the dressing-room so the game was even again. Bale played his first minutes and he did it quite well as a striker, getting his first goal of the pre-season. Asensio was also able to equalize the game after a good effort from Marcelo before he got injured.

Los Blancos have been unable to get a victory in the first two games of the pre-season but the way of playing is not that far away from what Zidane wants to achieve. Strangely, we almost couldn’t see Vinicius, the best news last season, but Zizou doesn’t give him a lot of trust in these first games.

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Real Madrid have started to play their pre-seasons games but the big news right now is Gareth Bale’s future. The news triggered when the Welshman didn’t wear the white t-shirt in the first game against Bayern Munich -Los Blancos were defeated 3-1- and Zidane said after in press conference that, if it was for him, Bale will be out of the team tomorrow.

But things are not like it seems to be. And Zizou wanted to shed some light again before the second game of the US Tour against Arsenal. The French manager explained that Bale was the one asking him not to play because he is negotiating his departure from Bernabeu. “Nothing has changed since June”, Zidane said some days ago, leaving the door open.

Bale’s agent, Barnett, is currently in talks with Chinese teams, the only ones right now able to pay his high salary, around €20M per year. The agent, who is blaming Zidane all over the media, said that Bale won’t leave the club on loan, so it looks like an operation like this one is the only viable way at the moment.

In the last press conference, Zidane was asked about the topic many times and tried to be clear: “I have no disrespect for anybody, and of course not a player. I will always be with them. The club is dealing with his exit. He didn’t get changed, because he didn’t want to. He is a Real Madrid player, nothing has changed, and he is going to train normally”, Zizou replied.

It seems like the club has already forgotten to ask money as a transfer fee and the high prio is to get rid of him and his high salary, even if Los Blancos paid around €90M six years ago. There is no big club in Europe willing to risk such amount of money for a player that doesn’t seem really focus on football.

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The summer for James Rodríguez will be very long. The playmaker is still enjoying his holidays in his country after the Copa América with Colombia, where he was one of the best players of the tournament. In a few days, he will have to come back to work and Real Madrid are waiting for him, although they would like to sell him before. Where will he go?

James Rodríguez knows that his future at Real Madrid is over. Zinedine Zidane doesn’t want him in the squad and the Colombian playmaker doesn’t mind to leave the club, but he’s also looking for his future. According to some reports, he already has a deal with Napoli and Atlético Madrid, and he would even prefer to go to the Madrid neighbours, but of course Los Blancos are not willing to allow this transaction.

Meanwhile, De Laurentiis, Napoli’s boss, is very angry about the situation: “I don’t understand why they gave James on loan to Bayern and they asked us €42M for him”, commented the owner. However, De Laurentiis is known as a tough negotiation in the world of football. Asking for huge amounts of money for some players like Cavani, Lavezzi or more recently Koulibaly. Now he wants a top player as a bargain.

Of course, Real Madrid prefer to sell James Rodríguez to Napoli rather than to Atlético. Actually it would be a huge mistake to allow a rival to reinforce the squad with a top player, even if James has played far from his top level in the recent years. Marcos Llorente’s sale to Atlético is enough between the two Madrid giants.

The whole city of Napoli is expecting a huge blow in the market like James Rodríguez. He would be the centrepiece of Ancelotti’s plan, but Atlético de Madrid are also looking to add more quality to their squad after Griezmann’s departure and despite Joao Felix’s arrival. At the end, Real Madrid should decide the final destination, although players use to have the last word.

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Los Blancos are training hard in Montreal during their pre-season stage in Canada, getting ready for the first three friendly games in USA against Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atletico de Madrid. During these first training sessions, we could see some images with goals and physical sessions with Takefusa Kubo highlighting.

Real Madrid surprised us by signing this young player at the beginning of the summer from FC Tokyo. Los Blancos paid nothing and it looked like a marketing strategy, opening the doors to the Japanese market. And for sure this was one of the reason, but the footballer is full of quality and he is showing us all his skills during the first training sessions.

A bunch of Japanese journalists travel with the team to Canada to follow Kubo’s first days at Real Madrid. And they should be very happy as the young footballer is doing great so far. We could see him joking with his team mates and also scoring some great goals. He has even talked for Real Madrid TV giving the first impressions about his first days with Real Madrid.

“In Japan there is a lot of passion for Real Madrid and I’m very proud of playing in the best club in the world”, said Kubo, who initially will start the season with Castilla, following the steps of Vinicius Junior.

“Players and coaches are very kind and I could adapt myself well. I have to take this opportunity I was given, but also enjoy it as not everybody had this opportunity”, Kubo commented. “I’m learning a lot as a footballer and as a person, inside and outside the pitch. I’m having a great time”.

These are the first steps for Kubo, who might follow the same path as Vinicius Junior. He is the first Japanese at Real Madrid and he might not have as many opportunities as Vinicius in the future. But for sure he has a promising future ahead and who knows if at Real Madrid.

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The pre-season has just started and Real Madrid players are in Montreal (Canada) to prepare the first friendly games of the season. On the plane we saw some faces that might not start La Liga against Celta de Vigo in August. Florentino Pérez and José Ángel Sánchez are still working to find a solution.

Llorente was sold to Atlético, Kovacic went to Chelsea, Raúl de Tomás travelled to Lisbon, Theo Hernández joined AC Milan, Reguilón went on loan to Sevilla, same as Odegaard and Luca Zidane, who joined on loan Real Sociedad and Racing Santander. However, there are three players that need to leave the club still in the squad: James Rodríguez, Borja Mayoral and Dani Ceballos. Some others might also leave the club.

James Rodríguez is negotiating with Napoli. De Laurentiis, Napoli’s owner, said recently that Florentino is being tough in the negotiations and the deal cannot be closed yet, although the player agrees to join the Serie A team and work again together with Ancelotti. Real Madrid are requesting around €50M to be paid now, not a great deal for the quality of the player and the current market situation.

Some Sports Bet Listings website is also reporting that Borja Mayoral can join Real Sociedad or Levante, where he played last season. However, his options are quite open and he might also leave La Liga, although his priority is staying. The other European champions Under 21, Dani Ceballos can also leave the club. His relationship with Zidane cannot be said to be excellent and Tottenham or Milan are chasing him. Both are still on holidays.

Apart from these three, there are others that can leave the club. Nacho or Vallejo need a new club after Militao’s arrival. Isco or Lucas Vázquez might also leave Madrid if some interesting bid arrives, although Zizou counts with them. Mariano needs to find a new club, because with Jovic he will have few opportunities in the new season. And then, of course, Gareth Bale, but Los Blancos have not received yet a good offer for him. Will he continue at the club?

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Eder Militao set foot at Santiago Bernabéu stadium for the first time in his life as a madridista. Florentino Pérez was also present to unveil the recent Copa América champion, who will join the group later on in Canadá. However, we’ll always remember his unveiling because he had to leave the press conference after feeling dizzy. Not the best way to start in the club.

Maybe the anxiety, nervous, long journey, jet lag… There could be many reasons, but Militao had to leave the press conference after telling the journalists that he was feeling dizzy. Before, he had time to try his white t-shirt with no number on it, listen to Florentino Pérez and set foot on the grass of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

Los Blancos paid €50M for the centre-back defender to Porto and he should be the replacement for Sergio Ramos or Raphael Varane. His age -only 21-, makes him a clear bid for the future, as Varane was some time ago. But we should be patient with him despite the money spent and the calls with the Brazilian international team. He’s still young and will need some time to learn.

His wish is winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and he already listened to some tips from Casillas or Pepe, former colleagues at Porto: “They told me about the culture, the day-to-day routine. They told me to be calm”.

Militao didn’t want to speak about his ambition of being in the starting eleven because this is Zidane’s call, but he wants to be “competitive”. The Brazilian admitted that he had not talked with Zidane yet, but he’s looking forward to meeting them all.

It won’t be easy for Militao to find a spot in the starting eleven, but he will have many minutes for sure. Nacho Fernández showed a really poor level last season and Vallejo has many physical problems. One of the two Spaniards will leave the club, probably Vallejo, and Militao will have many options to shine.

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