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Chelsea’s manager is not very happy with the performance of his strikers this season and he is searching other strikers to complete his squad. Antonio Conte is interested in the young Spaniard striker Álvaro Morata. Chelsea didn’t start the Premier League as well as they wanted and the Italian manager is thinking in solutions to face this season.

With Benezema’s recovering, Morata is not having too many minutes. In the first games of the season, Morata played in the starting 11 but with the Benzema’s recovering ,he started to be on the bench and he doesn’t participate as much as before. The young Spaniard striker started being in Zinedine Zidane line up in all the games but when Benzema was fit again, Morata has become the player number 12.

Chelsea already tried last transfer market to sign Morata because Antonio Conte asked for him. According to OKdiario the English club had made the second offer (lower than the one they did on summer of €70M) to sign the Spaniard striker because Antonio Conte is not happy with the performance of his signing star Michy Batshuayi. The Belgian striker is not playing as well as it was expected at Stamford Bridge and Conte is looking for a new talent and that one could be Morata.

The Spaniard striker is not having the minutes he hoped with Real Madrid and although he is very happy with Zinedine Zidane, Morata might be thinking in changing of team. It looks quite difficult that Real Madrid let Morata leave on the winter market because Zinedine Zidane only has two pure strikers, Morata and Benzema. It’s true Mariano is also in the squad but Zinedine Zidane in not giving him minutes, only 13 minutes in all the year so far. Morata said recently in an interview that Zidane convinced him to stay because he was going to play a lot, but he’s losing some confindence after not playing the most important games in the season so far, the Champions League clashes against Sporting Lisbon and Borussia Dortmund.

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The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) have published a report about the most expensive squads in the world. Manchester United have overcame Real Madrid in the table and the Red Devils have now the most expensive players in the world after a busy summer.

With the acquisitions of Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly or Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Manchester United own the most expensive squad in the world with a value of $800M. Despite this big amount of money spent, the results are not satisfactory for Mourinho’s side so far, and the team is failing to follow Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side is third in this table with a value of $680M. Claudio Bravo, İlkay Gündoğan, John Stones y Leroy Sané signing might be responsible for this situation.

Real Madrid are now second in this table. This summer the team only signed Álvaro Morata from Juventus and brought back Marco Asensio after a year on loan. However, no stars were sold and James Rodríguez or Isco finally stayed in the club. The squad value is $706M, according to CIES. Last year, Real Madrid were top of the list although Florentino Pérez has been very quite in the last transfer windows.

Los Blancos value is slightly higher than big rivals FC Barcelona, whose squad value is $540M despite spending a lot of money this summer in the signings of Paco Alcácer, Umtiti, Lucas Digne or André Gomes. No other Spanish football team is in the list, not even Atlético de Madrid.

List of most expensive squads:

1. Manchester United – $800M
2. Real Madrid – $706M
3. Manchester City – $680M
4. Barcelona – $540M
5. Chelsea – $536M
6. Paris Saint Germain – $507M
7. Juventus – $440M
8. Arsenal – $424M
9. Bayern Münich – $397M
10. Liverpool – $396M

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Gareth Bale played again with his national team in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Viena (Austria), where they got a point (2-2) after a boring game. The Real Madrid winger was very important in the game as he participated in both Welsh goals. However, this time Gareth Bale couldn’t score any goal and Joe Allen and Wimmer -own goal- were the scorers.

Bale is the star in the Welsh team and all the defenders keep a close eye on the Real Madrid player. Actually, one of his best performance was with his national team in the last Euro, where they reached the semifinals. But not only the defenders keep an eye on Bale but also the scouters of big clubs.

In Austria we could see scouters from Manchester United or Juventus, according to The Mirror. There were also some other scouters in the stadium from smaller teams like Everton, Sunderland or Atalanta. According to Diario As, Thomas Bormann, Manchester United scouter, was in Viena to spy on Gareth Bale.

The Welshman is an old dream for Manchester United. Even before Real Madrid hired the winger from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, the Red Devils were trying to bring him to Old Trafford. This summer there were also rumours about an interest of Manchester United in the footballer, but Gareth Bale has said several times that he wants to stay in Madrid.

Bale is negotiating a new deal with Real Madrid but they have not reached an agreement yet. The former Spurs player wants a very high salary and Los Blancos are trying to get a lower deal. Bale is comfortable in Spain although he doesn’t speak the language yet, and he wants to stay. However, if there is any problem with the new deal, Manchester United are behind waiting for an opportunity. The Red Devils have shown this summer that they have a lot of money to spend and they were able to undertake the highest transfer in the history with Pogba’s deal. Will they also get Gareth Bale?

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Spain drew (1-1) against Italy in the second game in the qualifying stage for the Russian World Cup. Vitolo opened the scored after Buffon’s big mistake and De Rossi equalized from the penalty spot. The penalty was committed again by the Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, who is being heavily criticized by the Spanish supporters.

Sergio Ramos is not playing at his best lately with Spain. The defender, for instance, missed a penalty in the Euro against Croatia. Spain finally lost this game and finished second in the group stage so they had to face Italy in the Last 16 round. Besides, Ramos didn’t play again a good match against Italy in the Euro.

Spain played a great game in Torino but Sergio Ramos committed a penalty in the last minutes. The referee hesitated but finally decided to concede the penalty and De Rossi didn’t miss. Spain didn’t take the opportunity to win the three points in Italy in a very important game for both teams.

Some part of the journalists and the supporters criticized Sergio Ramos, who has been committed too many penalties in the last games. Playing with Real Madrid, the referee didn’t see a handball against Espanyol. Only three days later, against Villarreal, Ramos again committed penalty for a handball. This time the referee did see the play. Now, with Spain, Sergio Ramos again made a mistake and Spain lost points.

Sergio Ramos didn’t hide after the game and spoke with the press about his mistakes: “Everybody can make mistakes, even Buffon who is a flagship for Italy, but here they applaud and in Spain they whistle, it’s the big difference. We have envy and here you can see admiration in every step. People who criticize me can enjoy themselves now because they will shut up a lot of years”, Sergio Ramos said in the Juventus Stadium.

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The Gabonese striker from Borussia Dortmund wants to play for Real Madrid. This is not a secret, because the forward has said it several times. His grandfather was from Ávila, a little town close to Madrid, and Aubameyang promised him that some day he will play for Los Blancos. Real Madrid also want him, so it’s the deal done?

The African player wants to keep his promise and he’s trying hard to get a Real Madrid deal. The first step is shining with his current team, a thing that he’s doing. In Bundesliga, he has scored 5 goals this season, but last year he scored 25. The two other seasons at Borussia, Aubameyang scored 16 and 13 goals. These are numbers for a Real Madrid striker.

The second step is getting close to Real Madrid. And he’s trying. Apart from making public his interest in playing for Los Blancos, Pierre-Emerick is also dealing with his current team. According to Sports Bild, Aubameyang has a deal with Borussia Dortmund so the club will ease the striker situation and he can leave the club in summer. This deal came after a summer with a lot of rumours, where Aubameyang finally decided to stay in Dortmund. To thank this, the yellow team will put no problems if the African striker finally decides to change Dortmund for Madrid.

However, the situation has a big problem. FIFA banned Real Madrid for signing in the next two transfer windows. Although Real Madrid have appealed to CAS, it’s very likely that Los Blancos are forced to not buy any player in the next year, so Aubameyang would be a dream.

The African striker already showed his quality in front of Florentino Pérez and Zinedine Zidane. Although Aubameyang didn’t play his best game, he showed good skills in the Champions League game in the group stage against Los Blancos. Will Aubameyang be a good replacement for Benzema?

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We can easily state that Real Madrid are the most successful football club in the planet. On field, Real Madrid have won 11th Champions Leagues until now, have La Liga record trophies with 32 and were named as the best club in the Twentieth Century by FIFA. Off the pitch, Real Madrid are also successful, both financially and socially. According to Forbes, Real Madrid are the second most valuable sports team in the world -$3.65 bill-, only behind Dallas Cowboys -$4 bill-.

Steve G. Mandis has analyzed Los Blancos success in the must read book “The Real Madrid Way”, where he details why the Spanish team has to be seen as the best club in the world. According to the former Goldman Sachs worker, Real Madrid values “created the most successful sports team in the world”.

Mandis decided to analyze both on-pitch and off-field success in the last years and how Real Madrid came to find a great financial approach to sports. Because Los Blancos have always had the best players and have won a lot of titles but they haven’t achieved the success in all the fields until now. According to Mandis, “chasing the most talented (and most expensive) players can be a recipe for a winning record, but also financial disaster, as it was for Real Madrid in the late 1990s”.

realmadridway

However, when Florentino Pérez arrived to Real Madrid this was changed. Real Madrid continued buying the best players in the world -Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham, Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale- but also found the financial and marketing success in a new business style.

Part of this success, he explained, it’s also because Real Madrid fans feel like they are part of a community and they share some values, no matter where they are. Andrew Hill wrote in Financial Times, how Real Madrid can achieve that some players like Cristiano Ronaldo can adjust his game for the “greater good” when Los Blancos, for instance, signed Gareth Bale, back in 2013. According to the FT, “The decision to buy clean-cut forward James Rodríguez in 2014 and spurn bad-boy striker Luis Suárez was a further sign of the weight the club puts on bringing in new players who fit the community”. And Real Madrid are the largest sports community in the world.

In ‘The Real Madrid Way’ you will find the “untold story of Real Madrid: one of the most incredible turnarounds in sports and business history”. Mandis investigated behind the scenes and gives some clarity of how Los Blancos have reached this prominent positions in the world of finance, marketing, culture and, of course, sports.

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Casemiro is still out of the team due to a fracture in the fibula, a “complicated injury”, as the midfielder said. The supporters are already missing him because the Brazilian is a key player for Zinedine Zidane, who has to replace him with Toni Kroos or Mateo Kovacic, who are not stoppers.

The midfielder spoke with Real Madrid media about how he feels after being out of the team for so many days: “When I’m not in the pitch and I can’t help because of an injury, of course I’m angry because I want to help my team-mates and make efforts for the team. It’s quite hard being out and can’t help. I know my colleagues want me to be fully recovered and I’m working for this very smoothly, so I can come back stronger”.

With Casemiro out of the team, Los Blancos couldn’t win the last games and Real Madrid are now second in the table: “I’m important like every other player, but without my team-mates I wouldn’t be important. We have to value all the players. We know we are fine, in the top part of the table and we have to value it. Feelings are the best possibles. We are leaders [Atlético are actually top of the table] and we’re fine in the Champions League with four points. We shouldn’t forget that this squad won the Champions League. I always tell the people to believe on us because we won the Champions League and it’s a very strong squad. I’m sure we won’t fail”, Casemiro said to the media.

Casemiro is still recovering from a fracture in the fibula suffered against Espanyol: “The tackle was very strong but I have already forgotten this. I know we have to go slowly, it’s a complicated injury, but I’m working hard to come back as soon as possible”. Casemiro will still miss some more games.

This time, the midfielder cannot attend the call of his national team, Brazil: “For me, playing with Brazil or with Real Madrid, is a pride. Every game I attend I want to play. It’s a dream playing with my country and with Real Madrid. I try to enjoy every day this moment”, Casemiro finished.

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Álvaro Morata is quite happy in the start of the season. Despite not starting all the games, the Spanish forward is having many minutes in La Liga and other competitions. He has already scored a very important goal -against Sporting Lisbon at the very last minute in the Champions League- but Karim Benzema is the one chosen to start the games.

At the moment, he has played 400 minutes in la Liga across 7 games and only 26 minutes in the UEFA Champions League in the two minutes. Morata is not concerned about this lack of minutes: “I train well and I’m ready for team, being professional. I don’0t know if I should play more, the coach is the one that knows what he does. Here is one of the places most difficult to be important. I’m going to continue fighting and being self-critical”, Morata said in an interview with La Ser in El Larguero, a Spanish radio show.

Zidane was quite angry after the fourth draw in a row against Eibar and he spoke with the players: “Of course, every body gets angry. Zidane is a very communicative coach, he talk a lot with us. He tells us everything he thinks face to face and I think this is the most important thing. There are young people, Spanish players and a manager who knows what is playing for Real Madrid. We have everything to do a great year”, Morata analyzed.

Álvaro Morata joined Real Madrid after the Euro, where he did a great job with Spain. During this time, the forward had many offers but he finally chose Real Madrid: “I spoke with Zidane and he told me I was going to be an important player and I was going to play a lot. I didn’t even think twice. I spoke with some other coaches but I thought that perhaps this Real Madrid opportunity will never come back. Real Madrid was the team that want me more and here I am”, Morata said.

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gelsonmartins

In the last weeks, Portuguese newspapers reported Real Madrid interest in the Sporting Portugal raising star Gelson Martins. The winger played a great game at Santiago Bernabéu in the first game of the Champions League group stage and all the eyes were on him. Los Blancos knocked Sporting’s doors to ask for the youngster, but the Portuguese side rejected to negotiate for him.

Besides, Manchester United were also interested in signing Gelson Martins. Red Devils have always had a close eye in the Portuguese market, where they signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani or Anderson. Now, Mourinho’s side has also asked for the Portuguese winger. But not only these two clubs are chasing Gelson Martins because FC Barcelona have also joined the bid.

Ariedo Braida, FC Barcelona consultant in international markets, has confirmed the interest in the Portuguese newspaper Record: “Gelson Martins has been observed by us. He’s a young man, with a lot of talent and Barcelona have observed and will keep looking at him. At this moment, Barcelona know what is going on in the Brazilian, Argentinian, German, Italia, French, Portuguese football… where we have referred to some players and I can’t hide Gelson Martins is one of them”, said Braida.

The Portuguese side is working to improve Gelson Martin’s contract. Currently he’s earning around 120.000€ per year but the club wants to raise the salary up to 700.000€ per year. The contract expires in 2021 with a release clause of €60M

Sporting Portugal have always sold players at a high price and Gelson Martins will be no exception. It looks like the auction for the young winger has started and the three richest teams in the world are already bidding for Gelson Martins. However, Real Madrid have an important problem because FIFA have forbidden Los Blancos to sign any player in the next two transfer windows. Which team will get Gelson Martins?

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Isco

Isco said recently in some interviews that it’s more difficult to play in Real Madrid than in other European clubs. The playmaker explained this is because with Los Blancos you have to compete with the best footballers in the world. Although he said it was his fault his lack of minutes and he won’t leave Real Madrid in the winter transfer windows there are a lot of clubs wanted to bid for Isco.

According to the Spanish newspaper Diario As, Isco has many possibilities to leave Real Madrid in summer. His main options are in the Premier League, where three clubs are fighting for Isco.

Tottenham Hotspur showed a lot of interest this summer. Actually, according to the bookmaker, the Spurs were the likely club for the Spaniard. Mauricio Pochettino wanted him for his new project in the Champions League. Even Isco could have gone on loan to the North London club but finally there was no option for Spurs.

Tottenham had to fight with city rivals Arsenal. Arsène Wenger has always a close eye in the Spanish League. This year he signed Lucas Pérez from Deportivo La Coruña and Isco is the kind of player he likes. With technical skills, young and playmaker, Isco could be perfect for gunners.

Finally, Manchester United had been also interested in the Málaga born player. José Mourinho wants him for his club. Especially now that Rooney is in the bench and Mata has no trust from the Portuguese coach, Isco could be perfect for the Red Devils.

Among the clubs that could be interested in Isco, Diario As also named Málaga, Isco’s former club, Milan and Juventus. Isco has plenty of options but first he needs to improve his performance to have more minutes at Real Madrid. Will Isco finally leave Madrid?

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