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Former Real Madrid left back Roberto Carlos says Neymar is a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi but his talents aren’t noticed as much because he’s been playing in a poor Brazil team in recent seasons.

The 22-year-old forward played a key role in Barca’s treble success last season, but at international level, Brazil’s disastrous World Cup in 2014 and the rebuilding exercise that has followed means he’s not been noticed at that level as much as Messi and Ronaldo.

Speaking to reporters as he was unveiled as a La Liga ambassador, Roberto Carlos stated: “People always talk about the same players (Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo) when Neymar is the best player for me.  I think that here in Barcelona, Neymar does much more than he does in Brazil, because he has a fully formed team.  Brazil’s team is built for the Copa America.”

He also went on to discuss his former side’s La Liga start. Los Blancos drew their first game with Sporting Gijon but have responded by beating Real Betis and Espanyol 5-0 and 6-0 respectively.

“Madrid look good.  We’re still starting the season and you can’t question the team too much yet, they are playing well.  We’ll see what happens in the end but the team looks strong,” he commented.

 

 

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Real Madrid have confirmed Gareth Bale picked up a calf injury in the Champions League win over Shakhtar Donesk but have refused to put a timescale on his return.

The Wales forward was forced off with the problem midway through the first half as Real strolled to a 4-0 win. Afterwards, boss Rafa Benitez confirmed it was a calf issue but had no more information and said the player would be sent for assessment.

A statement on the club’s official website revealed the problem but put no date on Bale’s possible return.

It read: “After tests today at the University Hospital Sanitas La Moraleja, Gareth Bale has been diagnosed with a muscle injury in the left soleus, pending developments.”

The news is a blow to the team who will be missing captain Sergio Ramos for a couple of weeks after he dislocated his shoulder in the same match. Raphael Varane also picked up a knock but should recover quickly.

Los Blancos have some important games coming up in the next couple of weeks with Athletic Bilbao and Atletico de Madrid on the horizon. Bale will also want to be fit to return for his international side when they take on Andorra next month looking for the win they need to qualify for France 2016.

 

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Former Real Madrid right back Michel Salgado says star striker Cristiano Ronaldo is under-appreciated for all the fine work he does for the team.

The 30-year-old became the club’s leading league scorer in its history last weekend with his five goal haul against Espanyol. He followed that up with a hat trick in the Champions League during the week to take him to 80 goals in the competition – a new record.

Speaking to AS, Salgado, who made more than 250 appearances during an illustrious career at the Santiago Bernabeu, said the forward doesn’t get the recognition he deserves and people don’t realise just how hard Ronaldo works.

“How he works is spectacular and what he’s doing is impressive, equalling Messi’s records and winning Ballons d’Or when it’s so difficult, because you have a player like Lionel Messi,” he stated.
And he added: “I don’t think people realise the value of Cristiano and the effort he puts into winning what he wins.”
The ex-defender also went on to add how impressed he is with Daniel Carvajal.

“For me, Dani Carvajal is a special full-back and is amazing in defence and attack and has the perfect balance. He’s a player who has learned to defend over the past two years at Real Madrid. He has quality, gets down the other end, can put in a good cross and is currently first choice for both real Madrid and Spain.”

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Real Madrid are reportedly eyeing 18-year-old midfielder Ruben Neves from Porto, according to British newspaper Daily Express.

The Portugal Under-21 international is one of the biggest prospects in the Primeira Liga, and he has caught the attention of many European giants.

Florentino Perez has started a strategy that consists of signing young pearls at a low price and see them grow at the club, rather than spending millions in bringing them when they are already stars.

In the last few months, he has brought Martin Odegaard, Marco Asensio, Jesus Vallejo, Mink Peeters and Federico Valverde. Now he has set the sight on Neves.

The Portuguese youngster is a defensive midfielder that has great quality and has impressed during the last few months at Porto. His Spanish team-mate Cristian Tello compares him to Sergio Busquets.

Neves made his debut for Porto in 2014 at 17 years old. He played 33 games last season and this season Julen Lopetegui has given him an even more important role.

Porto will surely fight to keep him, but Florentino Perez has proved that when wants to sign a player, it is highly unlikely that he will fail.

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Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president

Real Madrid have bought back the percentage of their image rights they had sold to savings bank Bankia and media group Mediapro in 2004.

Florentino Perez has paid 29 million euros to recover 30 per cent of Los Blancos rights. Mediapro owned 12.5% and Bankia had 7.5% and they both formed a partnership called Real Madrid Rights Management, that has now been dissolved.

Real Madrid sold 30% of the image rights 11 years ago in order to finance the ‘galactic’ signings Florentino Perez made in his firs stage as Los Merengues president, such as Brazilian forward Ronaldo Nazario and England star David Beckham.

The excellent economic situation the club is living has allowed Perez to repurchase those image rights one year before the contract with Bankia and Mediapro was expiring.

The Los Blancos president has opted to buy them now rather than recover them next year for free at the end of 2016 because he believes this option will be more profitable. “This rights’ cost will be recovered before the date that those rights were going to be returned to the club,” he explained.

Perez will present a report of the deal to Real Madrid shareholders in the assambly that will take place next Saturday in the Spanish capital.

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Real Madrid have confirmed captain Sergio Ramos dislocated his shoulder in Tuesday night’s win over Shakhtar Donesk.

Ramos was one of three players to pick up injuries during the 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Gareth Bale and Raphael Varane also picking up injuries.

Official confirmation has not yet been made regarding the other two but a statement on the club’s website said Ramos has dislocated his shoulder.

“Following the tests carried out on Sergio Ramos today in the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, the player has been diagnosed with dislocated acromioclavicular joint in his left shoulder. His condition will be evaluated,” it read.

The news will be a blow for Los Blancos who have big games coming up against Athletic Bilbao and Atletico de Madrid in the next couple of weeks and the injury will put Ramos’ participation in doubt.

But Ramos took to social media to show fans he is thinking positively and is hoping to be back soon. He posted a picture of himself with his arm in a sling along with a message that read: “Always with a smile, whatever happens. Working hard to come back stronger.”

The fact there has been no word on Bale’s condition is concerning. Manager Rafa Benitez said it was a calf problem, an injury the 93 million euro man has suffered three times since joining Real in 2013.

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Nacho Fernandez has said he is happy to contribute to Real Madrid’s success and is delighted whenever he gets the chance to show boss Rafa Benitez what he can do.

The 24-year-old defender started on the bench in Real’s 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donesk on Tuesday night, but both him and Portugal defender Pepe both came on for injured duo Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.

Speaking to reporters after the match – Los Blancos’ fourth clean sheet of the season – Nacho said he was pleased with another shut out.

“It’s an important result because of all the goals that we scored and because we kept a clean sheet. As long as we’re picking up the points, that’s always positive. Playing for this team and with these players is really special. The coach knows that I’m ready whenever he needs me, and I’m happy to play as many minutes as I can,” the centre-back told journalists.

He also hailed team mate Cristiano Ronaldo, whose hat trick means he now has eight goals in his last two appearances.

“It’s incredible; he never tires of scoring goals, and we know how important he is for our team. Let’s hope that he scores this many goals in the next two games too. The coach knows what kind of player Cristiano is. He knows that he’s the best player around right now, and we’re delighted to have him in our team,” he commented.

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Real Madrid midfielder Isco has said the players are pleased with their positive run of form after their opening day Champions League win against Shakhtar Donesk.

Los Blancos ran out 4-0 winners with Karim Benzema opening the scoring and Cristiano Ronaldo grabbing a hat trick.

It means the 10-time Champions League winners have responded to their disappointing draw with Sporting Gijon in La Liga with three consecutive wins, scoring 15 goals without conceding.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Isco said the players were in a good place right now.

“The team’s getting into a really positive run of form, scoring lots of goals, showing cutting edge up front and yet to concede for the moment. I’m really happy with the way team’s responding,” he commented.

Speaking about his own form, the Spanish international said he wants to add more goals to his game, something boss Rafa Benitez urged him to do earlier this week.

“I try to help the team with the things that I have, I try to improve every day and I have to keep on moving forward. I want to score more goals too. It’s not something that I’m worried about and I’m certain that they’ll come soon,” he stated.

 

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Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez has said he was delighted with the way his team took their chances following their 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donesk.

Karim Benzema opened the scoring on the half-hour mark before Cristiano Ronaldo stole the show once again with a second half hat trick. His three goals took him to 80 goals in the Champions League – a new record and three ahead of Barcelona striker Leo Messi.

Speaking to reporters at his press conference after the game, Benitez said he was pleased with how clinical his side were.

‘It was a difficult game. They are a side that manage the game well, although they did not have many chances. They have speed and ability and it was not easy to control all of that. Without having an outstanding game, we had a lot of chances. Above all, we have attacking prowess. I am satisfied because we made the most of our chances and we did not concede. The only negative note was the three players that we had to substitute,” he stated.

When asked about Ronaldo, he once again added that the Portuguese is the best player in the world.

“I am surprised that you go on and on about what someone says and not about what happens on the pitch and what the team does. I said yesterday that he plays for our team and that he is the best player in the world. I am going to repeat it so that there are no remaining doubts. I know Cristiano Ronaldo’s value and performance level; he is the best in the world and is showing that in games and every training session,” he commented.

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Ex-Real Madrid midfielder Steve McMananman believes his former side haven’t strengthened enough to win the Champions League this season.

Los Blancos got their campaign of to a winning start on Tuesday with 4-0 win over Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donesk.

But in an interview with FourFourTwo magazine ahead of the game, the former winger said he believes the 10-time Champions League winners are still too light and will be in trouble if Luka Modric or Cristiano Ronaldo pick up any kind of injury that keeps them out for a long time.

“I think Real will be OK but have they strengthened their team this year? To a certain extent they haven’t really. I still think their best team is with Luka Modric in it. The fact that Benzema and Modric were injured really affected Real last season. If they stay fit they’ll always go a long way because they’ve got too many good players,” the former England international stated.

“If Cristiano Ronaldo gets injured and misses five or six games in the Champions League, Real are going to struggle,” he added.
Asked who he thinks will win the Champions League this season, McManaman picked out Bayern Munich as the favourites.
“I think Bayern have invested really well in the summer. I went over to watch them a couple of times last year and I think the amount of injuries they had, certainly in the latter part of the campaign, really affected them. Whether they’re going to have the same luck with injuries this season, that’s another thing, because Franck Ribery is still struggling.

“But the fact that Arjen Robben should be back, that they’ve brought in Douglas Costa and signed Arturo Vidal from Juventus, they’ve got a really good squad and it will take a good team to knock them out.”

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