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Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister has expressed her anger after a statue of the Real Madrid forward in his home town of Madeira was vandalised.

The perpetrators daubed graffiti on the statue bearing Leo Messi’s name and number on Tuesday. The Argentinean international had beaten Ronaldo to the Ballon d’Or award just 24 hours earlier at a ceremony in Zurich.

The momument in Madeira was erected in December 2014, shortly after a museum was opened on the island dedicated to Ronaldo’s incredible professional career as a footballer.

Katia Aveiro took to Twitter to post a lengthy statement expressing her anger, claiming the vandals would be better off in war-torn Syria.

“I find the act in itself a disgrace but what I find more shameful is the envy that surrounds him and the anger that some unloved and frustrated pig-headed people display in public in a disgraceful way which leaves me embarrassed and sad as a Portuguese person,” she wrote.

The statement continued: “The people that are responsible for this and other negative things directed towards this person should know that our island was recently voted the world’s leading island destination not just for the beautiful sea that surrounds us, nor for the marvellous gastronomy we also have nor the warm Madeiran welcome.

“It was in part thanks to this great Madeiran figure that honours his origins and from time to time emphasises it in public. Most of us should thank and salute to this man, it’s thanks to him that a lot of Madeirenses still have their jobs.

“My beautiful island, regrettably, is still inhabited by some frustrated savages who deserve to live in Syria, between people that show no respect and hold no value for life in society. I apologise for the ones who live the sadness of war, but I believe some people don’t belong on the land they live in.”

 

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Zinedine Zidane has started a new era for Real Madrid after becoming the new Los Blancos manager, and the Santiago Bernabeu fans expect to enjoy as they did when the Frenchman was their star player.

Zidane spent five successful seasons as a Los Blancos player and scored some of the most beautiful goals ever seen.

Here at Real Madrid news we have made our own ranking with the best goals Zinedine Zidane scored during his years at the Spanish capital. Can you recall all of them?

7. Champions League semifinals against Barcelona

Zidane scored one of his most beautiful goals in one of the most important matches of his career. It was 2002 and Real Madrid were facing arch-rivals Barcelona in the semifinals of the Champions League for the second time in history. In the first leg at the Camp Nou, Zidane opened the score with a superb chip over Roberto Bonano. Los Blancos won 0-2 and destroyed the Azulgranas hopes of qualifying for the final.

6. La Liga goal against Sevilla

Zidane used to provide incredible assists, but in this occassion in the 2005-06 season, he was the one receiving it. In a La Liga clash against Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu, Guti sent a stunning backheel pass to the Frenchman, who found the back of the net with a powerful shot to the top corner. The fans who were at the stadium that day will surely never forget it.

5. Golazo against Alaves in Ronaldo’s debut

Real Madrid legend Ronaldo Nazario made his debut with Los Blancos in the fifth date of the 2002-03 La Liga season. However, Zidane stole the limelight from him with a terrific goal. It was against Alaves, at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Zidane opened the score after just one minute of action with a superb shot to the far corner. Los Merengues ended up winning 5-2.

4. A rocket shot against Espanyol

Midway through the 2004-05 season, Real Madrid needed a victory against Espanyol to put pressure on Barcelona, who lead the table in La Liga at that moment. Zinedine Zidane played one of his best games with Los Blancos and scored one of his best goals. After 13 minutes of play, he dribbled past Ibarra and fired a rocket into the top corner with his left foot.

3. Great goal against his favourite rival

Zidane made his debut as Los Merengues manager against Deportivo de La Coruna, the team he used to perform better against as a player. In January 2002, he scored this brilliant goal at the Santiago Bernabeu in Los Blancos 3-1 victory over the Galicians. The defenders simply didn’t know how to stop him.

2. Doing tricks in the Asian Tour

In the 2004 pre-season, Los Blancos faced Japanese side Tokyo Verdy as part of their Asian tour. Despite not playing with intensity, Real won 0-4 and Zizou scored one of his best goals ever. In the 9th minute, he dribbled past two defenders with his typical roulette move and fired a shot into the bottom corner. Japanese fans were simply stunned.

1. The best goal in Champions League history?

The legendary goal Zinedine Zidane scored against Bayer Leverkusen to win the Champions League final in 2002 is without a doubt the best goal the Frenchman scored for Madrid. Many even claim it is the best goal in Champions League history. Leverkusen were making things difficult for Los Blancos, but Zidane sent that unforgettable left-footed volley into the top corner to make it 2-1 and hand Real the title. Absolutely brilliant.

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Winning major trophies as a team will allow Real Madrid players to grab football’s individual prizes, according to Marcelo.

The Brazil left back was named in the FIFAPro World Eleven on Monday evening – the second time he has featured in the team in his career.

But rather than focus on his individual achievement, the defender was quick to point out it was an important day for Real, who had three other players included in the team – Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric.

Talking to the media afterwards, Marcelo said the individual recognition is a nice bonus but is only possible when the team achieves good results overall and wins major prizes. And he urged the players to keep battling hard this season to wrestle the La Liga and Champions League titles back off Barcelona.

“It is a very significant day, not only for us but also for Real Madrid. The most important thing is that we play together and think as a team. The key is to not think about being a part of this squad, but to just think about how to help the team,” he commented.

And he added: “If you think about individual targets you do not end up attaining them. The aim is to win titles and that makes these prizes come too. I hope we keep going like this, improving. There is still a lot of the season ahead of us and we have to keep working and battling.”

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Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos says he is not happy to look back and reflect on what he has won in the game but prefers to focus on how he can win more trophies.

The defender, who was named in the FIFAPro World Eleven for the sixth time in his career, told reporters in Zurich that he wants to lead his club to more glory.

During his career, the former Sevilla centre back has picked up a host of major honours including the Champions League, World Cup, European Championship, La Liga, World Club Cup and Copa del Rey. He has been capped more than 100-times for his country.

Ramos, who was named as Los Blancos captain in the summer following the sale of Iker Casillas, stated: “It is always a privilege to be at this gala with the best players in the world. Being a part of this group is down to group work. It is a prize and a reward for daily work and sacrifice.

“I am an optimistic and ambitious footballer. I am not satisfied with what I have won in the past. I find motivation on a day to day basis, from training session to training session, in order to gradually reach the top level and be able to enjoy these moments.”

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Roberto Carlos

Real Madrid legend Roberto Carlos has claimed he can use his influence to get Barcelona star Neymar to sign for Los Blancos.

In an interview with Spanish TV station Intereconomia, the former Los Merengues defender said: “If the president lets me join the club, I can convince Neymar to come to Real Madrid.”

The Brazilian, who is currently player-manager at Indian side Delhi Dynamos, show suggested he is going to join Real Madrid in some way: “It would be an honour for me to work at Real Madrid. I’ve had a meeting with the club about my future. Now I’m leaving for a few days and on Friday we will know more about it.”

Asked about the role he would like to have, Roberto Carlos admitted that “being the football director is a bit difficult.” “What I want is to learn from Zidane and help him in the training sessions. I would learn a lot from him.”

The Brazilian criticised Rafa Benitez’s job and claimed the Frenchman is going to do better: “Zidane’s Madrid is going to be completely different the previous manager’s Madrid. It’s going to get better. Zidane is a leader. The manager has to be friends with the players, and Benitez was not affectionate with them.”

Roberto Carlos, who is arguably the best left-back in Real Madrid history, praised the current full-backs of the team: “Marcelo is the best left-back in the world. Carvajal is very good, and Danilo is still adapting. Playing at Porto is different from playing at Madrid.”

He also praised Gareth Bale and said “the new manager will make Bale get better.” “Zidane can get a lot from Bale and he will make Real Madrid have more players in contention to win the Ballon d’Or, not just one,” he added.

Asked about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos believes he is not going to leave the club any time soon: “He is phenomenal and will keep playing at Real Madrid for many years to come.”

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Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo says he wants to score another 500 goals and keep breaking records after missing out of the Ballon d’Or on Monday night.

The 30-year-old striker came second to Barcelona’s Leo Messi, who took 41% of the votes compared to Ronaldo’s 27%. It is the fifth time Messi has won the award, two more than Ronaldo, who has won it the same amount of times as legendary players such as Marco van Basten, Michel Platini and Johan Cruyff.

Ronaldo set a number of records in 2015 and netted 57 times for club and country over the 12 month period. During the process, he overtook both Alfredo di Stefano’s and Raul’s goalscoring records to become the leading scorer in the history of Real Madrid.

Speaking at the ceremony in Zurich, Ronaldo said: “I hope I’ll score another 500 goals but it will be tough. I am still young and want to play for many more years. All the records are always an extra, the icing on the cake. I never dreamt of breaking Di Stefano’s records, or Raul’s – all those legends you know.

“But I got there during my seventh season here. Obviously it was all with the help of my team-mates – nobody plays alone. It is my job to help the team win trophies and to score goals. My goal is always to be at the top level. I love to make people happy. I am a happy person.”

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Barcelona have reportedly joined the fight to sign Schalke wonderkid Leroy Sané. The Germany international has recently become a target for Real Madrid, and the Catalans are aiming to interfere in the transfer so the player doesn’t end up at the Santiago Bernabeu.

German magazine Kicker has reported Barcelona have contacted the 20-year-old to try to seduce him. Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool are also interested, although Schalke are not willing to let their young star leave.

The fight to sign Sané could start next June, and it looks like it is going to be pretty interesting.

Navas linked with Manchester City

The latest Real Madrid transfer gossip includes Manchester City showing an interest in Keylor Navas and Los Blancos willing to offer 100 million euros to bring Paul Pogba to Madrid.

Spanish press have reported Pep Guardiola has requested City directors to sign Navas for next season, as he believes he is the perfect goalkeeper for his future project at the Etihad Stadium. Yet, it seems highly unlikely that Florentino Perez will let him go.

Meanwhile, the Los Blancos president could be willing to make a bigger effort to bring Pogba, since Zidane has reportedly requested his signing. Real could be ready to offer 100 million next summer, according to reports from Spain. Juventus have been reluctant to sell the Frenchmanf for now, but that ammount would surely do.

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Four Real Madrid players were named in the FIFAPro World Eleven at the prestigous award ceremony held in Zurich on Monday night.

While Cristiano Ronaldo missed out to Leo Messi for the Ballon d’Or, the 30-year old forward was named in the world’s best eleven for the ninth time in his career. He was joined by team mates Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Luka Modric.

Ronaldo netted 57 goals for club and country in 2015 and overtook both Alfredo di Stefano and Raul to become Real’s all time leading goalscorer. His inclusion in the FIFAPro Eleven means he has been picked for nine consecutive years – a joint record along with Messi.

Los Blancos captain Ramos has been picked for the sixth time in his career and is joined in defence by Brazilian left back Marcelo who appears for the second time. Luka Modric has been rewarded for a fine season on a personal level by being named for the first time.

The FIFAPro Eleven was dominated by La Liga as Barcelona also had four representatives. The Nou Camp side, who won the treble last season, had Leo Messi, Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves as representatives in the side. Juventus, last season’s runners up in the Champions League, were represented by Paul Pogba. Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was named in the side, as was PSG defender Thiago Silva.

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France midfielder Matieu Valbuena says he would line up in the same team as Karim Benzema again despite the Real Madrid striker’s ongoing blackmail case against him.

Benzema was charged in the autumn after revelations he was involved in trying to extort money from Valbuena to get rid of a sex tape that featured the Lyon man.

The French FA has said it will not consider Benzema for selection for the national side until the outcome of the case. But speaking to TV1, Valbuena said he would not have an issue with playing alongside Benzema at the Euros in the summer, which take place in France.

“We will see how it goes, but yes, no problem, anything is possible. It wasn’t like it was a murder,” he commented.

The playmaker admitted he was angry at being dropped from the French side in November for the games against Germany and England when the story first emerged. Boss Didier Deschamps said the decision not to pick Valbuena and Benzema was so there would be no distractions.

And Vabuena says he now understands the reasoning.

“It was hard to accept. At the time I was angry because I was the victim and was penalised twice…Looking back, I now understand his decision. 2015 is behind me now. It’s time to move on,” he commented.

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Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale says his is not interested in winning individual awards such as the Ballon d’Or.

The winner of the 2015 award will be announced later on at a ceremony in Switzerland with Cristiano Ronaldo up for the gong yet again. He faces competition from Barcelona duo Leo Messi and Neymar.

Bale, who scored a hat trick at the weekend in the 5-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna, told reporters he is not interested in individual glory but is much more focused on winning titles with Los Blancos.

“Individual awards – I don’t think about them at all. They’re nothing that I want to think about. It’s for other people to sort out themselves. For me, I just want to work hard for the team and try to win as many titles as I can,” the Welsh international said.

The 26-year-old was named as the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year and well as the FWA Player of the Year in the 2012-13 season for his outstanding form at Tottenham Hotspur – something that prompted Real to take up their interest in him and shell out more than 90 million euros.

Bale has scored 12 goals in 14 league appearances for the 10-time Champions League winners this season.

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