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Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has insisted that host nation France hold no fear for Germany, ahead of the two side’s Euro 2016 semi-final contest in Marseille.

The pair will meet in the Stade Velodrome on Thursday night and, despite Les Bleus playing the best football of the tournament so far in their 5-2 destruction of surprise side Iceland in the last round, Kroos believes there is no reason to fear Didier Deschamps’ side – the top scorers of the tournament so far with 11 goals.

Referring back to Germany’s gruelling penalty shootout win in the quarter-finals, Kroos said: “If (it) doesn’t go well for us, I’m certainly not going to use the Italy game as an excuse.

“Of course we have a lot of respect for France and I think they’ve got better as the tournament has progressed. We’ve seen they’ve got plenty of good individuals, but we certainly don’t need to be afraid.

“Fear is not the right word.”

Looking to reach their seventh European Championships final, three-time winners Germany have knocked out the host nation in four of their previous European Championships appearances – after overcoming Belgium in 1972, Yugoslavia in 1976, Sweden in 1992 and England in 1996.

Die Mannschaft also inflicted a devastating 7-1 win over host nation Brazil in the 2014 World Cup, but Kroos isn’t expecting a repeat of the last time they made an appearance in the semi-final of a major international tournament when they take on France.

As quoted in the Daily Mirror, Kroos added: “Playing the hosts nation in a semi-final is something special.

“We’ve had good experiences like that – although I don’t expect a game like in Brazil!

“The hosts are a good team – there’ll be enthusiasm for them but, of course, there’ll be pressure too and we’ll use that.

“France have improved throughout the tournament, they have individual quality but we don’t fear them.”

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Real Madrid teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale shared an emotional embrace following the Euro 2016 semi-final between Portugal and Wales.

Ronaldo scored with a thumping header to open the scoring in his country’s 2-0 win over Wales – as Portugal progressed to their second European Championships final in eight years.

The Portuguese captain unleashed a wave of emotion at the final whistle as he celebrated his side’s win, but stopped to console his Madrid colleague Bale.

Much of the talk in the build-up to the semi-final was about Ronaldo v Bale, but the pair put aside national rivalry once the game was over to share a special moment with the eyes of the world fixed on them.

Bale had been stood on his own, collecting his thoughts at the end of what has been a fantastic tournament for Wales, when he was approached by Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward first offered his hand to the 26-year-old – who was struggling to hide his disappointment at the result – before the pair shared a hug.

Ronaldo – who will hope to inspire Portugal to claim their first piece of silverware in Sunday’s final at the Stade de France – was asked about the time he spent with Bale following the final whistle after the match. However, he wouldn’t fully disclose what he said to his club teammate during their exchange.

According to the Daily Mirror, Ronaldo said: “I can’t tell you what went on.

“I congratulated them on their run, they had an amazing run. They were the shining star here, the revelation team.

“I wished them good luck and, as for the rest, I would rather not say.”

Despite his obvious disappointment at seeing his side miss out on the final, Bale focused on the positives of Wales’ incredible run during Euro 2016 and insisted they would use it to inspire them for future tournaments.

Bale said: “We’re bitterly disappointed to be so close to the final, but we have to be proud. We have achieved a lot.

“We’ve had a taste of it now and we look forward to the future. We have confidence.

“We don’t just want to turn up to one tournament, it’s about the bigger picture for us.”

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Real Madrid player Mateo Kovacic is one of the leading candidates to leave the white team this summer. The young Croatian does not enter in Zinedine Zidane plans for next season and several European teams have already shown interest in the player. The latest to join the bid is Borussia Dortmund.

The Croatian was signed last summer at the express request of Benitez, and once the coach went on record its role within the team became total and absolutely secondary, has started only in 8 league games throughout the course. Today, its future is far less clear.

While it is true that his departure from the club could be the most logical solution, it is also clear that the entity does not want to sell it wrong and it will only assess proposals or allow you to recover 35 M € invested last summer or not involving final player march. To this end, Real Madrid could require a clause in the contract that includes an option to repurchase.

In recent weeks, clubs likes Liverpool, AC Milan, Everton and West Ham United have asked about his situation, but his list of suitors not end here. In fact, a report in the Bild newspaper notes that one of the greats of the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund, has included him among its goals for the next academic year. The Germans, who have seen players as relevant as Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan left the boat, have the right to complete their hiring and pay could consider an important role in negotiations with Real Madrid much money.

Despite the recent interest shown by the German team, everything indicates that the priority of the player is to return to Italy, where he began to make itself known and showed his great qualities as a footballer, being player of Inter Milan.

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Italian champions Juventus have confirmed that Spanish forward Alvaro Morata has left the club to re-join Real Madrid.

A graduate of the Real youth academy, Morata signed for Juve in a £16m deal back in 2014. The 23-year-old – who scored two goals for his country at Euro 2016 – netted 25 times for Massimiliano Allegri’s side and he returns to the Santiago Bernabeu for a fee of just £24m.

It had been reported by ourselves that the Champions League holders would trigger a buy-back clause that was written into Morata’s contract when he joined the Serie A giants from Real, but Juventus have now released a statement on their website confirming the financial aspects of the deal.

The statement said: “Following the exercise by Real Madrid Club de Futbol of the option right to buy back the registration rights of the player Alvaro Borja Morata Martin, Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that the definitive disposal of the same player has been finalised for a consideration of €30 million payable in two financial years, net of the amount still due by Juventus for the purchase of the same player (€10.7 million).

“This transaction generates a positive economic effect in 2016/2017 financial year, for about €16 million and a net positive cash flow of €19.3 million in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 financial year.”

In another post on their website, Juventus were quick to pay tribute to the departing Morata and thank him for his services during his two-year stay at the club.

A statement under the title of ‘Gracias, Alvaro’ said: “With 27 goals to his name in 93 appearances – the vast majority of them scored in crucially important matches – Morata departs the club as a firm favourite among fans and team-mates alike and can look back with pride on a richly fruitful spell in Northern Italy.

“All associated with Juventus Football Club would like to wish Alvaro the very best of luck wherever his future may take him and thank him for two truly excellent years of service to the team. Gracias, Alvaro.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo current contract ends on the 30th of June 2018. However, the club is already working for an extension of his contract until 2020 or 2021 with some clauses with automatic renovation built in for certain objectives.

The Portuguese star is now 31 years old so when his current contract finishes he will turn 33. If Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid finally agree on a new contract, the striker will play for Real Madrid until he turns 35 or 36.

He arrived to Real Madrid on the summer of 2009. Florentino Pérez prepared a big show in Santiago Bernabéu stadium for the Portuguese star. He has not disappointed the president, winning two Champions League trophies, one Liga and two Copa del Rey trophies. Only in La Liga last year, Ronaldo scored 35 goals, helping the team to fight against Barcelona until the last game.

Although Cristiano Ronaldo said several times he wanted to retire from football at Real Madrid, some other clubs are interested in signing the Madeira striker. Some rumours said that Cristiano Ronaldo was set to a return to Old Trafford, where he received all the love from the supporters every time he played in Manchester.

Other options could be the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. Cristiano Ronaldo usually spends his holidays in the States and we’ve seen big players in the League in recent years. Raúl, David Villa, Thierry Henry or Andrea Pirlo are some examples.

For instance, the bookmakers also opened a market for Cristiano Ronaldo and in which team he will be playing next year. You can bet on Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the MLS for 14/1 odds. You can use the leading sportsbook for US players to place your bet.

At the moment, Cristiano Ronaldo is focused on the Euro and the possibility of ending the season with another European trophy, but will he stay in Real Madrid forever?

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Dimitri Payet

These days, we can find a lot of rumours of players that might end up playing for Real Madrid. The Euro is still going on, so the transfer market is very quite at the moment, but in a few weeks the squad should be strengthen with some quality players.

The Premier League is a good market for Real Madrid. Actually, most of the footballers in the current squad played in England. Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo or Luka Modric are some examples.

According to the media, these players could end up playing at Bernabéu:

N’Golo Kanté: Maybe is the best solution for Real Madrid midfield. The Leicester player made a great campaign at the Foxes winning the Premier League trophy with a key role in the squad. The price should be around €25M and could be the perfect replacement for Casemiro. Pace and strength in the midfield.

Dimitri Payet: The French playmaker is one of the best players in the Euro. His goals in the group stage put France through the knock-out stage. With Griezmann, he has lead the team to the semifinals. Currently playing for West Ham United might look for a better club this summer. Real Madrid are interested, especially if James finally leaves the club.

Hugo Lloris: According to The Mirror, Real Madrid also showed interest for the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper. According to the source, Los Blancos want a good player to compete with Keylor Navas for a place in the line up.

Laurent Koscielny: Another French player in the Premier League. The Spurs defender is been linked to Los Blancos in recent reports. Pepe is already in his thirties and Nacho might end up in Serie A, so Florentino Pérez should sign another defender eventually.

Eden Hazard: It’s been three or four years with reports saying that Hazard will sign with Real Madrid. The Belgian playmaker performed a really poor season so it’s very unlikely that Zidane wants to sign him for the squad. However, this is the kind of player that Real Madrid fans like.

The market is difficult for Real Madrid nowadays because all the clubs know that Florentino spent huge amount of money for other players in the past. Who will be signing this year? You can use the best free bets in the UK and gamble around Real Madrid transfer market.

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All the reports suggest that James Rodríguez will leave Real Madrid this summer. Los Blancos are looking for different midfielders to reinforce the squad: André Gomes, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kanté…

With all these names around the club, Real Madrid will need to sell some footballers if they would like to sign more players. James Rodríguez is always in the selling list after his disappointing season. Besides, Zinedine Zidane showed last season he doesn’t like a lot the Colombian player, leaving him on the bench in the Champions League final and some other important games.

James Rodríguez, who played a good Copa América with Colombia, has always said that his poor performance is due to a lack of confidence and opportunities. He was complaining about all the games he spent on the bench instead of helping the team in the pitch.

With this situation, Real Madrid could have thought on selling James Rodríguez but it will be a high transfer. Los Blancos paid €65M to Monaco two years ago and Florentino Pérez would like to get back all this money.

PSG was amongst the clubs that could buy the Colombian playmaker. Actually, the French champion club is buying a lot of footballers in the last few days, including Krychowiak and Ben Arfa. Actually, in the press conference for Ben Arfa’s signing, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, PSG chairman, spoke about the Colombian player: “It’s not true. We haven’t spoken with James Rodríguez”, he said.

Although this could be part of the negotiation, it looks like it’s going to be a long summer for James Rodríguez. The Colombian midfielder is now enjoying his holidays in Miami with his family and he wants to forget about all the rumours around his future. He has a tough situation at Real Madrid and James should decide whether to stay at Real Madrid or leave.

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Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president

The Brazilian youngster Gabriel Jesús is doing a great season with his club, Palmeiras, and he has called the attention of all the major clubs in Europe. Among these clubs, obviously, we can find both Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are fighting to get the forward.

Gabriel Jesús is only 19 years old and he is playing for Palmeiras. He’s performing a stunning season, scoring 14 goals in only 18 appearances in all competitions. That is the reason why all the clubs in Europe are fighting to get him. PSG, Manchester United, Inter Milan or Bayern Múnich are also interested in getting him but it’s not going to be easy.

The player has shut all the rumours in the sports channel SportTV: “I’ve taken a decision. My intention is to stay at Palmeiras. I trust in my work and the professor’s Cuca. The team is really strong right now”.

He continued saying: “I always said to the press that my will was stay at Palmeiras. It’s true that this siege could damage me but I’m focused in Palmeiras. We’re fighting for the title and I’m very happy here”.

His coach, Professor Cuca, also spoke about Gabriel Jesús’ future and gave him a piece of advice: “Gabriel Jesús leaving the club is the normal situation. He’s a great player, a great person and has a bright future. He doesn’t need to rush. I had players that left and after they didn’t even play with the Brazilian national team. And Gabriel Jesús, playing in any club in Europe, will have opportunities to play with the national team”.

Some days ago, Real Madrid signed another South American youngster. Sergio Díaz, Paraguayan striker, will join the club to play in Castilla, the second team. Apart from big names, Real Madrid is also looking for young players all over the world.

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Everybody is talking about Paul Pogba and the possibility to join Real Madrid. Juventus already put a price to the Frenchman and wasn’t cheap: €130M. However, according to Spanish newspaper Marca, Real Madrid is targeting the Portuguese midfielder André Gomes, currently playing for Valencia CF.

Valencia set a high price of €65M for André Gomes and all the major clubs in Europe have already asked about the midfielder. Among these clubs we can also find FC Barcelona, who is looking for more players to add to the midfield after the disappointment of Arda Turan.

Juventus made a formal bid of €40M but it was rejected according to the Spanish media. Manchester United and José Mourinho wanted also the Portuguese footballer but the Red Devils signed Mkhitaryan in a similar position. Chelsea, Liverpool, Napoli or PSG showed interest in André Gomes.

André Gomes is only 23 years old and he’s been playing in the Portuguese national team in this Euro helping the squad to arrive to the semifinals of the tournament, where they’ll face Wales. In La Liga, especially last season he showed all his skills. Unfortunately for Valencia, this past season was quite disappointing for André Gomes and most of his colleagues.

He signed a contract with Valencia until 2020 and his release clause is about €120M. Obviously, no club will arrive to that number but Valencia won’t sell the player for less than €60M. The former Benfica player won’t play the Champions League next year if he stays in Valencia and he knows that his career could be stopped if he stays longer at Valencia.

André Gomes could be the perfect replacement for Luka Modric, who always arrive a bit tired at the end of the season. Real Madrid is also looking for another midfielder, a stopper, a N’Golo Kanté is the chosen one. With these two players, the midfield will be strong enough to face all the competitions.

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Daniel Carvajal

Most of the Real Madrid players are enjoying their holidays. We’ve seen this summer James Rodríguez enjoying his time in Miami after the Copa América or Keylor Navas training in Valdebebas after having surgery early in June. There are some other that are still playing the Euro -Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and Cristiano Ronaldo- and some others are already thinking in the upcoming season.

It’s the case of Dani Carvajal. The right back is already fit after suffering an injury in the Champions League final. Unfortunately for him, he missed the last minutes of the game but he was also ruled out from the Euro by Vicente del Bosque for injury. He was going to be in the initial line up almost certainly but he had to watch the games from home.

Now, he’s back to Santiago Bernabéu with some kids from a summer camp. Carvajal spoke with the Real Madrid official media and talked about the next season: “I’m looking forward to starting, I’m already training by my own to start very strong. The expectations are really high. We have very soon the European Supercup and we’re going to prepare it well to win the trophy”.

This season, Real Madrid could win up to five titles, starting in August: “We want to fight for La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League and FIFA World Cup. We aspire to everything but we should keep our feet on the ground because is really difficult”.

He missed the Euro but some of his team mates could lift the trophy in Paris next Sunday: “Hopefully, some of them could win the Euro. We know that some Real Madrid player will play the final because of the fixture Portugal-Wales. I hope they’re enjoying it because playing an Euro must be very beautiful”.

Finally, he spoke about all the trophies he has already won with Los Blancos: “I’m very proud to enter in the club’s history. I have thoughts of every single title, especially the Champions League in Lisbon and Milan. You get a bit sentimental and I know it’s not easy to win. Be part of the history of the best club in the world is something to be proud of”, Carvajal finished.

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