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Real Madrid have launched a 12-million-euro bid for Argentinian winger Martin Benitez, the player’s club Independiente de Avellaneda have claimed.

Turkish side Galatasaray have called Independiente to inquire over the availability of Benitez, and they have been told they would need to outbid Los Blancos to sign the 21-year-old.

Galatasaray’s general secretary Fatih Isbecer has explained: “We contacted Independiente to make an offer, but at that moment they told us Real Madrid have already offered 12 million euros. We could just reach 10 million due to financial fair play regulations.”

Isbecer has claimed that, consequently, Galatasaray have ruled out the possibility of signing Benitez and are considering other options. “We will see if that offer from Real Madrid is real,” he has claimed.

Benitez is a talented winger who made his professional debut for Independiente back in 2011. During 2015 he developed into one of the most promising forwards in South America, scoring seven goals in 35 appearances.

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Real Madrid will step up their efforts to sign Paul Pogba and Alvaro Morata in the summer in light of their transfer ban being suspended.

FIFA announced the two transfer-window ban dished out to Real and Atletico will be suspended while they investigate the appeals both clubs have made. The bans were handed down over breaches of rules surrounding the signing of youth players from abroad.

Italian paper La Gazzetta Dello Sport says Madrid will have a limited time to boost their squad ahead of a ban coming into affect and they want to secure the best talent they can while they are able to.

Pogba has long been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu after flourishing n Turin since joining from Manchester United. A fee for the Frenchman would be in the region of 80 million euros if Los Blancos wanted to sign him – and he is admired greatly by boss Zinedine Zidane.

Morata moved to the Old Lady in 2014 from Real having failed to establish himself as a regular at the 10-time Champions League winners. He goals in each leg of the semi-final last season helped knock his old club out of Europe’s premier club football tournament and has seen Madrid pick up their interest in him again with a view to buying him back.

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Real Madrid take on Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend and will be looking to get back to winning ways after the disappointing draw with Real Betis last Sunday.

Zinedine Zidane and his men will need to roll the dice and take a few more risks, like you can do on this website, if they are to haul themselves back into contention in La Liga. They lie four points behind Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid with the Catalans having a game in hand too.

Espanyol are the perfect opposition though for Real. They are on a poor run of form having not registered a win in their last seven games. Los Blancos also won 6-0 earlier on in the season in the reverse fixture. Betting companies therefore have Real as the clear favourites with odds of 1/9 with William Hill. Espanyol are outsiders at 20/1 to pick up the three points, with even a draw considered unlikely at 8/1.

The visitors have a host of injuries to make matters more difficult while Marco Asensio can not play against his parent club. Real will be missing Gareth Bale but in terms of first goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo is the favourite. He bagged four against Espanyol last time out. A fairly decent shout could be Ronaldo to score at anytime and Madrid to win 4-0, with odds of 10/1 with bet365.

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Real Madrid’s transfer ban has been temporarily lifted by FIFA while the world governing body investigates Los Blancos’ appeal.

Real, along with city rivals Atletico de Madrid, were given a two-window transfer ban after allegedly breaching rules over the signing of youth players from overseas. Both clubs appealed the punishment and FIFA has suspended the ban while it continues to investigate certain aspects of both clubs’ deals.

Media reports understand that a decision on the appeal could be made before the summer meaning that if the ban is upheld neither club will be able to register new players until the end of the 2016-17 season.

A statement from Real read: “Real Madrid would like to communicate that the FIFA appeals committee has decided to temporarily suspend the sanctions imposed on the club.” Atletico broke the news via their Twitter feed.

The case mirrors one against Barcelona in 2014. The Catalan outfit was banned for two transfer windows and managed to put back the start of the ban by appealing the verdict. The ban was ultimately upheld but the Nou Camp side was to spend more than 150 million euros in the summer of 2014 on players such as Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Thomas Vermaelen, Alen Halilovic and Jeremy Mathieu.

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Real Madrid left back Fabio Coentrao says he wants to stay at Monaco amid talk his loan deal could be cut short.

The Portugal international left the Santiago Bernabeu last summer after slipping down the pecking order and admits he is relishing life in Ligue 1 where he is playing more regularly.

With Los Blancos facing a transfer ban, reports had suggested new boss Zinedine Zidane wanted to recall Coentrao as he makes plans for his squad during the period they will not be able to register players.

But speaking at a news conference, 27-year-old Coentrao told reporters he was happy at Monaco and isn’t thinking of returning to the Spanish capital just yet.

He stated: “I came here to help Monaco achieve their goals and clinch second place in the table. I am very happy at Monaco and I am sure the club will be among the title candidates in the years to come. So I cannot see any reasons why I would not want to stay here.”

The defender did give his opinion on the managerial change at his parent club, and admitted he though Zidane is the perfect man for the job.

He commented: “Zidane knows the club. He’s the coach who Real Madrid really needed.”

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Sportswear giant Adidas is set to announce a historic kit deal with Real Madrid that will surpass the 1 billion euro figure deal, according to reports.

Madrid-based daily Marca claimed the German sports brand will pay Los Blancos 140 million euros a year for 10 years, meaning the deal will be worth 1.4 billion euros in total.

The deal will eclipse the one agreed between Adidas and Manchester United and also means Real’s new deal is worth more than Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona’s kit deals combined.

Despite the astronomical figures involved, no other party was believed to be involved in targeting a kit deal with the 10-time Champions League winners. Adidas had a first-option clause inserted into the last deal which was signed back in 2011.

The sportsweat giant has been Real’s kit maker since the 1998/99 season when they took over from Spanish firm Kelme. Adidas is believed to be focusing on increasing its partnerships in football and moving away from the athletics world, which has been badly damaged by doping allegations recently.

Real were recently named as the richest club in the world in terms of revenue by Deloitte and with news of such a large kit deal they will expect to retain their place at the top of the money league for a 12th year in a row next year.

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Former Real Madrid assistant manager Paul Clement says he will speak to Carlo Ancelotti ahead of Derby’s FA Cup encounter with Manchester United.

The Rams have suffered somewhat of a slump in form in the Championship but switch the attention to trying to beat the Red Devils this evening.

Speaking ahead of the game, Clement revealed he is in regular contact with Ancelotti and would be turning to him for advice ahead of their biggest game of the season to date.

He stated: “It is a challenge we are really looking forward to up against a team that is not in great form. I’m in regular contact with Carlo. If I really need him I know he will be there for me.

“Will I speak to him before this game? Yes, I think I will. He will tell me to work with the players, get close to the players and ignore everything else. He always used to say ‘control what you are in control of’.”

The pair worked together at Los Blancos for two seasons. In their first campaign, Real won the Champions League and the Copa del Rey but missed out on major honours in their second season. Clement left to take up the manager’s role at Derby while Ancelotti will take over at Bayern Munich next season after taking a year out from the game.

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Zinedine Zidane is risking his legacy at Real Madrid by taking the manager’s job, according to a former team mate.

Savio, who played alongside Zidane for a brief period in the early 2000’s, said the new boss built up legendary status at Los Blancos as a player. The 1998 World Cup winner helped his side to La Liga and the Champions League among other honours.

Earlier this month he took over the top job in the wake of Rafa Benitez’ sacking. So far, Zidane has two wins and a draw fro his first three games. Real lie third in the table, four points behind Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid, and the Catalans have a game in hand.

Speaking to UOL, Savio stated: “It’s not a question of ability. I was surprised because he’s a footballer with a massive history and an idol at Real Madrid. To risk it all as a coach is difficult. Real Madrid is a club with a lot of pressure. If it doesn’t go well this decision could destroy everything he built as a player.”

Former winger Savio, now 42, made 105 appearances for Madrid and netted 16 goals. He was part of the team that won three Champions League trophies – 1998, 2000 and 2002 – and also won La Liga in 2001.

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Real Madrid are ready to loan Lucas Vazquez to a La Liga team, according to the latest reports from Spain.

At least to first division sides have requested the loan, and Los Blancos directors believe the player should leave and get the minutes of action he will not get with Zinedine Zidane.

Deportivo de La Coruna and Espanyol are the main candidates to land the talented winger. Vazquez spent last season at Espanyol, so he knows the club well and that would be a good option.

However, Deportivo are having a brilliant season and their manager, Victor Sanchez del Amo, is a former Real Madrid player, which could facilitate his arrival to La Coruna.

It is not quite clear which is the footballer’s preferred option. He was a key player for Rafa Benitez, who gave him plenty of minutes of action, and probably see himself staying at the Santiago Bernabeu for a long time. However, his situation has changed with Zidane’s arrival.

Los Blancos believe he will be an important player should their appeal to the transfer ban fail, and they want him to keep growing during the second half of the season. Thus, a loan seems like the wisest option.

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Spanish radio station COPE has revealed Real Madrid tried to sign Leo Messi in three occasions. Los Blancos have reportedly been in talks with the Argentinian three times since 2011, but the player always rejected the offer.

According to COPE, Los Merengues tried to seduce Messi for the first time at the end of the 2010-11 season. “Los Blancos feared Cristiano Ronaldo would leave the club after receiving a crazy offer from Manchester City,” COPE has claimed. That was when Real planned to replace one star with another one contacting Messi through an intermediary.

Two years later, according to COPE, Real Madrid tried again. It was in the summer of 2013. This time, a member of the club’s board of directors arranged the meeting with Messi, but he received the same negative answer.

There was a third attempt from that same Los Blancos director. He called Messi again a few months later, but the Argentinian explained he didn’t want to leave Barcelona.

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