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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has no intention of bringing back Jose Mourinho to the Santiago Bernabeu and claims Rafa Benitez is the best coach he’s ever had.

Mourinho is now back at Chelsea following a three year stint in the Spanish capital. He guided the Blues to the Premier League title last summer but a very unspecial looking one win from four games in the league this term has prompted some in the media to question his long-term future at Stamford Bridge given owner Roman Abramovich’s love of firing managers who fail.

When asked by journalists whether he would ever consider taking Mourinho back at some point, Perez said he would not be interested. Although he won the La Liga title, Mourinho failed to make it to the final of the Champions League and also fell out with most member of his squad, other opposition players and managers and the Spanish FA.

In an interview with Cadena COPE, Perez said: “I have no intention of re-signing him [Mourinho], although he did give us an important step up in terms of quality. Before him, we struggled to make it past the last 16 in Europe and that wasn’t good enough.”

He then lavished praise on current boss Benitez, adding: “[Benitez is] the best coach I’ve ever had.”

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Alvaro Arbeloa says Rafa Benitez is the right man to lead Real Madrid and will make the players better.

Benitez succeeded Carlo Ancelotti in the summer and is tasked with winning back the La Liga and Champions League titles from Barcelona. While they looked strong in pre-season, Los Blancos didn’t get off to the greatest starts with a dour draw away at newly promoted Sporting Gijon before putting things right in the 5-0 win at home to Real Betis last time out.

Speaking to the club website, Arbeloa said the new boss is a great manager who will make the players improved.

The right back, who worked with Benitez at Liverpool, stated: “Once it became known that he was going to return, everyone started asking me about him [Benitez]. Rafa is a very methodical coach, a very hard worker, highly demanding and I assure you that we are going to become better players.”

He also added that people need to ignore the negative comments over Real’s slow start, saying there will be always someone ready to criticise the club.

“While you might hear that certain people aren’t happy with him [Benitez] or that he shows more affection to certain players, for me, at this stage of the game, nothing surprises me anymore,” he added.

“He has gotten off to a very good start. It doesn’t matter which manager we have because there will always be people out there looking to portray an image of the team that isn’t true.”

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Gerard Pique has issued a defiant statement saying he always wants Real Madrid to lose and will never change his views.

The Barcelona defender has been in the headlines this week after being jeered by Spanish supporters during their 2-0 win over Slovakia in the European Championship qualifiers. Much of the supporters’ anger stems from Pique’s pro-Catalan stance and his animosity towards Los Blancos.

While celebrating the La Liga title last season he poked fun at Real Madrid by thanking Kevin Roldan, the singer who performed at Ronaldo’s 30th birthday celebrations just hours after a 4-0 loss to Atletico de Madrid. The defeat was seen as the moment the pendulum swung in Barcelona’s favour.

He also caused further outcry last month when the Catalan side celebrated the European Super Cup win as he ran around the trash talking Real Madrid to his team mates.

In quotes published by the BBC, Pique was unapologetic for his stance and said he always wants the 10-time Champions League winners to lose.

“I won’t change regarding club rivalry. I always wish Real Madrid to do badly. I don’t regret anything that I have said and I would repeat it a thousand times and more. I am like that, I want Madrid to always lose. That is the sporting rivalry that has always existed in Spain, he commented.

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David de Gea will not join Real Madrid next summer on a free transfer as he has agreed a contract extension with Manchester United, the Premier League club has announced in their website.

After his move to Madrid collapsed in the last minute of the summer transfer window, the Spanish goalkeeper has signed a four-year deal, keeping him at North England until 2019.

Speaking to United’s official website, De Gea confessed he is “delighted to be starting this new chapter in my United career.”

“I have always enjoyed playing with these great players in front of our fantastic fans. Manchester United is a special club and Old Trafford is an ideal place for me to continue to develop my career. I’m looking forward to putting a difficult summer behind me and concentrating on working hard to improve and help my teammates to be successful,” the 24-year-old explained.

Louis Van Gaal had exerted big pressure to keep De Gea at Old Trafford and he is excited with this contract renewal. “I am absolutely delighted David has signed a new contract. He is one of the best goalkeepers in world football. I am very pleased that he will be part of the team for many years to come. David made a very important contribution to our performance last season and he has been the club’s Player of the Year for the last two seasons. At such a young age for a goalkeeper, he has many years ahead of him.”

De Gea has made 175 appearances for United since he arrived from Atletico Madrid back in 2011. He helped the Red Devils conquer the Premier League title in 2013.

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James Rodriguez and Danilo will miss Real Madrid’s game against Espanyol this weekend after picking up injuries on international duty.

The South American pair returned to Madrid after representing their countries and were assessed by the club’s medical staff.

Colombian Rodriguez, a 75 million euro signing from Monaco last year, has a tear in his thigh muscle. He picked up the problem while playing in a friendly against Peru. Reports suggest he will be missing from the first team for around 10 days.

A statement on Real’s website read: “Following the tests carried out on James Rodríguez today in the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, the player has been diagnosed with a tear in his left thigh muscle, resulting from a knock he sustained during the match between Colombia and Peru. His condition will be evaluated.

And there was more bad news for Madriditsas after it emerged summer signing Danilo will miss around a month of action with a foot injury picked up while playing for Brazil.

The club statement stated: “Following the tests carried out on Danilo today in the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, the player has been diagnosed with a plantar fasciitis tear in his right foot. His condition will be evaluated.”

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Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed he was not responsible for Iker Casillas’ exit after 25 years at the club.

In an interview with Spanish radio station COPE, Perez responded to those who criticized the goalkeeper’s departure.

“I didn’t kick him out. Had it been in my hands, he would have ended his career at Real Madrid. He had an offer from Porto we didn’t know about. He asked for help to leave, because he had been under a lot of pressure for the past two years.”

Perez also denied that they had paid Casillas to get rid of him: “We didn’t pay the two remaining years of his contract. It is a complex matter. There was a difference and it was solved with his fiscal situation. I have always stood up for him.”

Asked about the rumours of Gareth Bale’s exit, Perez denied there is any truth to them. “He is a Madridista since he was a kid, he wants to triumph at Real Madrid and he has great faith in himself. Why would he leave Madrid had Ancelotti stayed? I’m sure he would have remained the same.”

Finally, the Los Merengues president praised his new manager Rafa Benitez: “He is the best coach I have ever had.”

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Former Real Madrid player Jorge Valdano has said he believes Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi will return to form soon and once again be the top two players in world football.

Unusually for the pair, neither has scored a goal in La Liga in the first two rounds of fixtures this season. Ronaldo’s barren run extends to four games in the 2015-16 campaign so far after he failed to find the back of the net on Portugal’s two international matches this week.

Like Fernando Santos and Carlo Ancelotti have commented this week, Valdano also agrees the pair will soon be back to their best. Los Blancos take on Espanyol this weekend while Barce face Atletico de Madrid.

Speaking to beIN Sports, Valdano stated: “It’s a cosmic accident in the first two rounds. It’s a matter of time before they return to being extra-terrestrials.”

The ex-Los Blancos player also went on to add that he believes the La Liga giants will be the favourites for the Champions League this season.

“The favourites are in Spain, especially Madrid and Barca. That is their aspiration, to win it, and that’s the only way they’ll feel successful. They’re not even content with winning it, as we’ve seen with the treble and the sextuple. Madrid are as likely as anyone else to be in the final,” he commented.

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Former Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta has said a 30 second conversation between Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos would solve any issue the pair have at the moment.

Pique has been making headlines in Spain this week after fans of La Roja jeered him for various comments made over recent months, including pro-Catalan statements as well as winding up Real Madrid fans by mocking the club’s failure to win major honours last season.

Los Blancos captain Ramos had initially come out in support of Pique and urged fans not to boo him, but he has since suggested that the Barcelona defender should take some responsibility as to why the supporters of the national side haven’t been too happy with him.

Zubizarreta told beIN sports that the situation was similar to a fall out between Barcelona and Real Madrid players a few years ago that threatened to create problems when they met up for international duty. In the end, then captains Iker Casillas and Xavi spoke on the phone to sort out the situation.

“These are things that can be fixed with half a minute’s conversation, as they did in the days of Xavi and Iker. We must let them do so from within, but help them from outside. If Spain wins the next game 1-0 with a goal in the last minute from Pique, then surely everyone will be happy,” he commented.

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Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president

Real Madrid supremo Florentino Perez says French champions PSG will have to pay Los Blancos one billion euros if they want to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Ligue 1 side are backed by Qatar Sports Investments and have shown in recent seasons they are not scared to splash the cash on new signings by bringing in the likes of Edison Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahomovic and David Luiz.

Laurent Blanc’s side have been linked with a mega-money move for Cristiano Ronaldo in the past and rumours continue in the press that they’ll make a move for the 30-year-old next summer.

Speaking to Cadena COPE, Perez said no one can predict the future but added that if PSG want to sign the Portugal captain, the Ballon d’Or winner last season, they will need to shatter the world record transfer fee by more than 10 times.

“If PSG want Ronaldo, it’s easy: they have to pay the release clause: €1 billion. No-one is a prophet in football but we don’t want to sell him in 2016. There are still three years left on his contract,” he said.

The two clubs are set to meet in the Champions League group stage this season with the first meeting taking place in Paris at the end of October with the return game in Madrid in early November.

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Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has revealed Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was interested in a move to the club during his tenure and wanted to know more about plans for the team.

The Gunners boss will celebrate 19 years in North London at the end of this month. During his near two-decade reign the Gunners have won three Premier League trophies, including one season unbeaten, and five FA Cups, as well as reaching the Champions League final in 2006.

Wenger also oversaw the project to turn the Gunners into a major force by making the switch from the relatively small Highbury Stadium to the state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium they play at these days.

But according to Calderon, the story could have been very different if Wenger had taken his interest further with Los Blancos.

Speaking to reporters, he stated: “I imagine that anyone – be it a coach or a player – at some time in their career is interested in coming to a club like Real Madrid, especially when you have been at a club for 15 years, or however long, in England.

“Anyone working in any other industry would be interested in change. I think it’s a good idea to have a coach who has a long-term plan.

“He was talking to me about Real Madrid and, at that time, he was very interested in the club and what was happening. I remember he said: ‘Are you going to Hollywood again, or to make a football team?’ He meant are you going for film-star Galacticos or to make a proper football team.”

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