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It is often said that the modern day footballer is out of touch with reality and are spoilt with all the riches that come with earning a huge salary.

Fast cars, huge homes, private jets and more.

But Gareth Bale showed that footballers are human and do indeed relate to every day people when he made a surprise visit to a hospital in Cardiff on Christmas Eve. Many of the children at Cardiff’s University of Wales hospital were getting ready for bed ahead of Santa’s visit when the Real Madrid star and his partner walked through the doors unannounced and starting handing our gifts to patients. Not even the nurses on duty were aware the Wales star would be visiting.

Richard Case, the father of 4-year-old Cian, said Bale had made his son’s Christmas. Cian is facing months of intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy after he was diagnosed with cancerous spinal and brain tumours.

“There was no media accompanying him, so you could tell it was a gesture that he wanted to perform rather than feeling obliged to. Gareth was genuinely interested in Cian and his condition and gave him a Spiderman present for Christmas. He was also happy to pose for a photo with the family which his lovely girlfriend volunteered to take,” he said.

Lucy Griffiths, whose son Jayden is in hosiptal with breathing difficulties, said: “It made our Christmas. He just turned up as a surprise – not even the nurses knew about it.”

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Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o says Neymar should go on to establish himself as the world’s best player after the Ronaldo and Leo Messi era.

The Brazilian is on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or next month along with the two men who have dominated world football for the past eight years or so with many pundits believing they are the best players to have ever played the game.

Neymar has netted 70 goals in 134 games for his club since joining the Camp Nou side in 2013 and at 23-years-old is already captain of his country and the fifth highest goalscorer of all time in the famous yellow shirt.

Speaking to ESPN, Eto’o said Neymar has what it takes to become the number 1 players in the world, but he needs to work hard every day to realise his dream.

He commented: “Neymar has a lot of potential. After the era of Messi and Cristiano, surely he will be No. 1. But he has to remember that it depends on him a lot. He must remember that he hast the talent and needs to train, train and train, because others do not have his talent.

“Neymar is only 24 years old, I am 10 years older than him, but he is a leader in Brazil. I think, with all he has experienced, the pressure, he may be able to give advice to a 35-year-old who plays with him.”

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Toni Kroos says it is too soon to write Real Madrid off when it comes to winning the major trophies this season.

Los Blancos were thrashed by Barcelona in November in the Clasico and have also suffered defeats to Sevilla and Villarreal in the league, leaving many doubting whether than can push Los Cules all the way for the domestic title.

And with reports that manager Rafa Benitez has lost the support of the dressing room, winning the Champions League would be an even bigger task.

But World Cup winner Kroos is confident Real can turn their season around and be successful come May.

Speaking to the club’s official website, the German said: “We’re not even at the halfway point in the league and we performed very well in the Champions League group stage to make it to the last 16. It’s too early to be making evaluations. We’re Real Madrid – and being successful is part of our DNA. We’re going to fight for everything and will go out to win all our matches.”

“We want to do a lot better – for ourselves and for our fans. We’ve failed to be at our best at certain points of the season. But I’m optimistic. There’s some room for improvement and I’m certain we’ll get better. I’m positive that we’ll find that consistency that is not only demanded of us by our fans, but that we want too,” he added.

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Premier League side Liverpool have joined the race to sign Real Madrid forward Jese Rodriguez and could make their move next month, according to reports.

According to Don Balon, Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp wants to boost his side for the second half of the season and sees Jese as the ideal man to come in and provide some much needed fire power.

Klopp only arrived in October and after an initial upturn in form, the Reds have gone four matches without a win – putting the German under a bit of pressure for the first time. With Daniel Sturridge prone to injury, and Cristian Benteke not as free scoring as many had hoped, Liverpool are in need of a forward.

Jese was once seen as one of Madrid’s brightest hopes but a number of serious injuries have held him back in the past couple of seasons.

Under current boss Rafa Benitez, the 22-year-old has only been given a bit part role which has seen his options limited.

Speculation has surround Jese for some time now and a number of clubs have been linked with the forward. Should Liverpool decide to make a move, they could face competition from Arsenal, who are also thought to be in the market for a striker this January.

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Champions League trophy

Roma midfielder Mohamed Salah says he believes his side can beat Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The Seria A outfit were drawn with the 10-time Champions League winners earlier this month after qualifying second in their group behind Barcelona.

Roma have not made the quarter finals of the competition since 2007-08 when they were eliminated at that stage by Manchester United. In this season’s group stage, they were hammered 6-1 by Los Cules at the Camp Nou.

Ahead of the two-legged affair in February and March, Egyptian midfielder Salah said he was confident he and his team mates could get a positive result against the Santiago Bernabeu side.

Speaking to his club’s official website, Salah said: “I think we can do it. I think, in my opinion, we can do it. I’ve always have had a dream to play against Real Madrid. Everybody knows Real Madrid but for us we need to do our job, we need to do our work, we need to stay focused in order to fight and play well. I think we can do it.”

Roma are currently fifth in the Italian league after 17 games and sit just four points off leaders Inter Milan.

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Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas says the club is heading in the right direction and he is confident of success at the end of the season.

Los Blancos are playing catch up with Barcelona having lost 4-0 in the Clasico in November and have also lost to Sevilla and Villarreal in the league. Those defeats have prompted huge questions to be raised over Real’s ability to compete for the top trophies while they have left boss Rafa Benitez under huge pressure.

But Navas says the players are all pulling in the right direction and working hard to make the fans happy come the end of the campaign.

Speaking to the club’s official website, the shot stopper said: “We are fully aware of the challenges that face us. We’re doing great work on a daily basis.

“While it might be true that in some matches that great work hasn’t come across, I’m certain we’re on the right track and that at the end of the season our fans will feel extremely proud of all of us who train on the daily at Valdebebas. The work we are doing is truly excellent.”

He added: “The expectation is that we will be fighting for everything, and I’m certain Real Madrid will do that.”

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Iker Casillas

Spain boss Vicente del Bosque says Iker Casillas’ move to Porto in the summer was the best solution for the keeper.

Casillas left Real Madrid after 25 years service and having played in more than 700 games for Los Blancos. During his time at the club, the former captain won pretty much everything there is to win in the game, including the Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, World Club Cup, and European Super Cup. He was also part of the Spain team to lift the World Cup and European Championship twice.

At Porto, Casillas has kept eight clean sheets as his new club sit top of the Primeria Liga.

Speaking to O Jogo, del Bosque said: “Porto was a great solution for an uncomfortable situation that Iker was having at a club he has represented since a kid and he gave them a great service. At his age, I think it was a good move. He tells me he is happy, he is playing and he feels useful. He is still old enough to play at the highest level.”

And he added: “I watch almost every Porto game, and they are a team that dominate a lot, like Madrid in the Spanish league, and he is accustomed to be a goalkeeper of a big team.”

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Former Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello has laughed off reports he could return to the club should Rafa Benitez be given his marching orders.

Speculation in the press continues surrounding Benitez’ position with the Spaniard under immense pressure. Another defeat soon after the winter break could see the boss relieved of his duties just seven months after taking charge.

Zinedine Zidane remains the favourite to take over should Benitez leave the Santiago Bernabeu, while the press has also linked Jose Mourinho with a return to the club after he was sacked by Chelsea earlier this month.

Capello has also been mentioned by some media outlets, but the Italian said he thought the rumours were a joke.

Speaking to Spanish television station Cuatro, Capello stated: “Is this a joke? No, no, no. I don’t want to talk about this because it’s a joke. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

The 69-year-old has had two stints as Real boss previously, both for one season each. In 1996-97 and 2006-07 he guided Los Blancos to the La Liga title but was sacked for failing to win the Champions League and for employing a more defensive style of play rather than the attacking football fans are so used to watching.

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Real Madrid are planning to sign Wolfsburg defender Ricardo Rodriguez in January, according to the latest reports from Spain.

The 22-year-old Swiss has been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu for the past few months, since Los Blancos have been in need of a left-back who can give Marcelo some rest.

It seems that reinforcing that position has become a priority for the winter transfer market and Florentino Perez is going to launch a bid for the Switzerland international.

James Rodriguez to Chelsea?

Other Real Madrid transfer rumours include Denis Cheryshev nearing Villarreal return and James Rodriguez becoming a target for Chelsea.

Cheryshev is set to leave the Santiago Bernabeu on a loan move, since he is not getting the minutes of play he expected. Olympique de Marseille had shown an interest in bringing him, but Spanish newspapers have reported Villarreal have taken the lead.

The Russia international spent last season on loan at the Eastern Spain club, where had an amazing year. Thus, returning to Villarreal seems like the easiest choice.

Reports in Britain have suggested Guus Hiddink has asked Roman Abramovich to sign James Rodriguez after arriving at Chelsea. The Dutch manager believes his squad lacks quality in the playmaker position and positive the Colombian is the perfect man to fill that gap.

Yet, it seems highly unlikely that Florentino Perez will agree to sell one of his most promising players, no matter how much Abramovich is willing to offer.

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A poll conducted by Spanish sports newspaper AS has revealed Real Madrid fans prefer Zinedine Zidane for the manager job, over Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez.

AS asked Los Blancos fans who is their preffered coach to manage Real Madrid. Among the 22,000 fans who completed the poll, 11,600 chose Zidane, who earned the support of 52 per cent of the fans.

Only 7,300 -33 per cent- preffered Jose Mourinho, while Rafa Benitez earned the lowest support: Only 3,100 votes -14 per cent of the total.

However, the poll did not include the names of other candidates that have been linked with the Santiago Bernabeu job, such as Fabio Capello, Victor Fernandez and Joachim Low.

According to reports in Spain, Florentino Perez has made the decission to fire Benitez and is considering several candidates to replace him.

Despite the fans prefer Zidane, a few members of the board of directors believe he is still not ready for the task. Thus, Perez might seek for a more experienced coach, and someone who knows the club well, like Capello or Fernandez.

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