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Isco

Chelsea have been linked with a January move for Real Madrid midfielder Isco, in reports from Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

Jose Mourinho is seeking to reinforce his midfield line and he reportedly has set his eyes upon two Spaniards: Isco and Koke.

Both deals will be difficult for Roman Abramovich, but the Atletico Madrid man has more chances of ending up at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea could be able to temp Atleti by making a very high offer. However there is no amount Florentino Perez would take into consideration right now to let Isco go.

Despite not having a guaranteed spot in the starting eleven at the start of the season, Isco has become an essential player for Rafa Benitez due to the injury problems Real Madrid are suffering.

Mourinho was spotted at Spain’s European Championship qualifier against Ukraine, reportedly watching Andriy Yarmolenko, but surely he was also pleased by Isco’s brilliant performance.

The Portuguese manager has been a big admirer of the 23-year-old since he coached him at Real Madrid. The Los Blancos playmaker would surely make a fine pair with Cesc Fabregas, but that seems unlikely to happen. At least not next January.

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Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says striker Cristiano Ronaldo is still at the very top of his game and will go on winning trophies for the side as well as pick up award for his goalscoring efforts.

The striker picked up the Golden Boot in the Spanish capital on Tuesday after topped the goalscoring charts across Europe last season. He his 48 goals in La Liga for Los Blancos, and 61 goals in all competitions for his club.

It was the fourth time the 30-year-old has won the award – the first Real player to do so that many times. And it comes shortly after Ronaldo broke the club’s all-time goalscoring record. His double against Malmo in the Champions League took him past Raul to 324 goals.

Speaking at the presentation, Perez once again hailed Ronaldo and said he can still go on to lead the club to greater success.

“This award goes back to show that we have a unique and exceptional player in Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player in history to win the Golden Shoe four times. A few days ago he became Real Madrid’s [joint] all-time leading goalscorer and now Cristiano is picking up his fourth Golden Shoe,” he commented.

And he continued: “It is an honour to have him at our club. Cristiano Ronaldo came to Real Madrid to win all that he has won and now he wants more.

“There is something special about him. Despite winning so many trophies, he always wants more and never gets complacent. Thank you Cristiano Ronaldo, on behalf of all Madridistas, for all you have given us and for all you will give us.”

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Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo picked up his fourth Golden Boot as Europe’s top goalscorer last season on Tuesday afternoon and immediately said he wants more.

The 30-year-old hit a career best 61 goals in all competitions, including 48 in La Liga for Los Blancos. Despite his efforts, the team missed out on the title and the Champions League and had to watch Barcelona complete the treble when they won the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao too.

Ronaldo recently became the club’s all-time leading scorer – his brace against Malmo in the Champions League taking him to 324 goals, one ahead of previous record holder Raul.

Speaking at the presentation in Madrid, Ronaldo said he never dreamed of winning four Golden Boot awards. He added now that he has, he wants more – along with more trophies with Real Madrid.

“I never planned on winning four times. Maybe one or two yes but never four. I always want more. I know I am the only one to have four but I want more,” he said.

And he added: “That implies winning trophies with the world’s greatest club. This year will be no different and we want to win La Liga, the Cup and the Champions League. I hope we see each other again next year.”

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Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has refused to be drawn on whether or not his new deal at the club included a release clause that would allow him to join Real Madrid.

The Spain shot stopper was close to moving to the Santiago Bernabeu on the final day of the transfer window. Having been involved in a stand off all summer long, the two clubs agreed a deal that would have seen Keylor Navas move to Old Trafford.

But the late arrival of the registration paper after the window had shut mean the deal spectacularly collapsed at the last minute with both clubs entering a war of words over who was to blame.

In the aftermath, de Gea signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League side, and although he has expressed is disappointment at the move failing to materialise, says he has moved on.

Speculation has continued though, with some predicting the goalkeeper has a release clause in his contract that would allow him to move to the 10-time Champions League winners should Real meet a certain offer.

When quizzed by journalists while on international duty, de Gea was coy and refused to be drawn on the subject.

“You should ask [my agent] Jorge [Mendes] that question; he’s the one who pays attention to those details,” he stated.

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Antoine Griezmann

Real Madrid are eyeing Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann according to reports from Spanish sports television show El Chiringuito.

Sports journalist Pipi Estrada has claimed Florentino Perez has requested his scouts to keep track of the Frenchman’s progression and assess the posibility of signing the player.

Real and Atletico have had a non-aggression pact in the last few years, meaning that they wouldn’t try to sign each other’s players. However, Perez is reportedly not willing to continue this pact.

“Perez has ordered to eye Griezmann. He has said if he is interested in a player and he wants him, he will sign him. He is tired of pacts and is not going to continue with it,” Estrada claimed in his last appearance at El Chiringuito.

This decision was taken after an argument during the traditional meal between the clubs’ boards of directors prior to the Madrid derby. Apparently, there was a big dispute and Los Blancos representatives decided to leave.

The Los Blancos president is a great admirer of Griezmann and he could see him as the future replacement for Karim Benzema.

Should Perez finally decide to sign the 24-year-old, Atletico won’t be willing to negotiate, so he will have to pay the Frenchman’s 80-million-euro buy-out clause.

Griezmann has become one of the best forwards in the world since he arrived to Atletico last year and many European clubs are interested in signing him, including Paris Saint-Germain.

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Karim Benzema

Juventus defender Patrice Evra believe Karim Benzema can lead France to glory at the European Championships next summer adding that criticism of the forward is uncalled for.

The Real Madrid men ended a run of one goal in his last 12 games for his country last week with a brace in the friendly win over Armenia. Unfortunately for Les Bleus and Real he picked up a hamstring injury in the game and is expected to be out for three weeks.

Benzema has been criticised in the press in recent weeks with some saying he doesn’t care about playing for his country and is more focused on his club football. Earlier this week Benzema himself stated how desperately he wants to win trophies with France.

And now Evra has backed him, claiming he is key to the side’s chances of winning the tournament on home soil next summer.

Speaking to RMC, he said: “For me, Karim’s a great striker. I’m not the coach, but I think in Didier Deschamps’ eyes he’s the No.1. He must assume his status. He was whistled in Nice against Armenia but scored two goals in the end. He has to ignore the critics – he can’t make everyone happy. I’ve told him to keep working. He knows that we will do all we can to make him shine.”

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Real Madrid are not putting Wales under pressure not to play Gareth Bale, boss Chris Coleman says.

Wales take on Andorra in their final qualifying game this evening but have nothing to play for having sealed qualification for the European Championships next summer already.

They lost 2-0 away at Bosnia-Herzegovina at the weekend but Cyprus’ surprise win over Israel meant Wales qualified for their first major tournament since 1958. Speaking after the defeat, Bale described it as the ‘best loss’ of his life.

Los Blancos have already seen Karim Benzema and Luka Modric pick up injuries on international duty this week and were reportedly alarmed by the fact the 25-year-old forward could be used in a dead rubber.

But speaking to the media, Coleman, who was briefly in charge at La Liga outfit Real Sociedad, said Los Blancos have never placed any demands on him and have always acted in the right way.

He told reporters: “There has been no demand from Read Madrid on if he starts or how long he will play. Real Madrid have always been first class.”

Asked about how his team will prepare for the tournament in France, Coleman said he’d like to play a high profile friendly against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.

He commented: “Portugal would be a good one but they could be part of a mini-tournament in Miami. If not, we would be interested [in playing them]. We would want it in Cardiff and it is possibly a good time to go to the Millennium Stadium and play in front of a big crowd.”

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New Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce has taken a swipe at Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez, calling him a sore loser adding he doesn’t deserve credit for Liverpool’s Champions League win in 2005.

The former Bolton, Blackburn and West Ham manager expressed his thoughts on other Premier League managers in his new autobiography.

Allardyce, who has won nothing of note in more than 25 years of management yet believes that if he was called Sam Allerdici would be managing one of the giants of the game, had plenty of criticism for Benitez and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

Showing all the signs of a man who is bitter and jealous of others who have succeeded in management, he claimed Benitez doesn’t deserve the praise he gets for guiding Liverpool to the Champions League when they recovered from 3-0 down at half time to beat AC Milan on penalties.

Rafa Benitez was another one. When we beat his Liverpool team he would complain ‘They don’t play my type of football’,” he added.

“What was that, then? Winning football? He didn’t like me and he thought he was superior. Here was a trendy foreign manager with all his smart ideas getting beat by some oik from the Midlands. Benitez wouldn’t talk to me at all and that just made it all the better when we won,” he wrote.

He rambled on: “Of course he can say he won the Champions League with Liverpool, which is something I never did. But it was nowt to do with him. Steven Gerrard took that final by the scruff of the neck and dragged Liverpool back from 3-0 down against AC Milan to eventually win on penalties.

“I don’t blame Benitez for claiming credit — but as managers we know the truth. It’s like when you make a substitution in desperation and it comes off. You get all the credit for your tactical brilliance when it’s often just luck.”

 

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Jese Rodriguez has received a very interesting offer from Inter Milan to move to the Serie A side, Italian press has reported.

The Spanish winger has many admirers in Italy, as Napoli have also shown an interest in signing him.

Rafa Benitez’s former club are reportedly planning to request Real Madrid a loan move for next January. However, Inter seemed to have had the same idea, and they will also try to bring Jese in the winter transfer market.

Roberto Mancini is eager to reinforce his forward line, and he believes Jese is the perfect candidate. Inter have reportedly promised the footballer he will be the star of the team and they could even offer him some extra money to join them until next June.

The Los Blancos home-grown winger has only played 130 this season and he is a regular substitute. However, Benitez sees him as a crucial piece of the squad and he is not willing to let him go anywhere.

Real Madrid would only consider a loan deal should Jese request it, and that could happen if the player keeps sitting on the bench. Yet, Karim Benzema’s injury is expected to benefit Jese, who could feature in the starting eleven next weekend against Levante. If he gets more minutes of action, there is no way he will request to leave in January.

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s rivalry with Leo Messi spurs the Real Madrid forward into raising his game and becoming an all-time great, says Zinedine Zidane.

The pair are widely regarded as two of the greatest players to have ever played the game and much debate has taken place over who is the better of the two players. Between them, they have won seven Ballon d’Or trophies – Messi edging that count by one.

Earlier this month Ronaldo broke the all time goalscoring record at Real, his brace against Malmo taking him to 324 goals in an incredible 308 games. The previous record was held by club legend Raul who played alongside Ronaldo in the 2009-10 season at the Santiago Bernabeu.

In an interview with Canal+, Zidane stated: “You have to see Ronaldo on the training pitch. It is simply amazing to see him in action. The rivalry with Messi is only pushing him to get the best out of himself. Ever since Raul has left Madrid, Ronaldo has gone on to develop into another club legend. He is feeling very well at Real Madrid.”

Zidane himself is regarded as one of the finest to play the game. His goal in the Champions League final in 2002 is considering one of the best of all time.

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