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Karim Benzema

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema is keen on a move to Arsenal, according to reports.

The Los Blancos frontman has been linked with a move to the Gunners for many weeks now with the FA Cup and Community Shield winners prepared to pay up to 50 million euros for his services.

Real aren’t actively looking to sell considering he’s the only out and out striker in the squad and he’s also a favourite of club president Florentino Perez.

But a ‘source’ close to the player said the Frenchman is interested in a move to London and the Emirates Stadium.

In a story published by British tabloid the Daily Star, the source stated: “It’s up to Arsenal to fight for Karim with a big offer. Then he could be their player in this window.”

Arsenal currently have Olivier Giroud as their main striker and boss Arsene Wenger is keen to add to his firepower. He bemoaned the the lack of world class strikers available on the market this week and has said he is not interested in Benzema.

The Frenchman joined Real from Lyon in 2009 and has scored more than 120 goals in his time at the club. Last season he notched 22 goals for the 10-time Champions League winners.

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Real Madrid may have picked up three trophies on their pre-season travels but the hard work begins today as the new La Liga campaign gets underway for Los Blancos.

With just one title in the past seven years, Rafa Benitez and his men will be under pressure from day one to make sure they take the trophy back to the Santiago Bernabeu come the middle of May 2016.

Without wanting to belittle today’s opponents, it couldn’t have been more of a dream start for Benitez to take charge of his first competitive game. Sporting Gijon are making their return to the top flight for the first time in four years and shouldn’t prove too tricky a test for the 10-time Champions League winners.

Even Sporting coach Abelardo doesn’t rate his teams’ chances too highly, saying: “Out of 100 matches against Madrid we would win one, hopefully that will be tomorrow.”

In terms of team news, Karim Benzema and Fabio Coentrao sat out training on Friday putting their participation in doubt. The big decision for Benitez will be who starts in goal – Kiko Casilla or Keylor Navas. New boy Mateo Kovacic could may a debut in midfield. Whatever the case, Los Blancos should win this comfortably.

Possible line-ups:
Sporting Gijon: Pichu; L Hernandez, Espinosa, Ramos, Lopez; Alvarez, Cases, Carmona, Halilovic; Guerrero, Castro
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Kovacic, Modric, James; Isco, Bale, Ronaldo

Realmadridnews.com prediction: Sporting Gijon 1-3 Real Madrid

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Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez has said the La Liga title will be won by the lowest points haul for years this season due to increasing competitiveness of sides outside the traditional top two.

Los Blancos and Barcelona have been battling out for the title for years now, with the interruption sometimes of Atletico de Madrid. But the new boss believes the likes of Valenica, Sevilla and Villarreal have all got stronger over the summer meaning the race for the title will be tougher.

Real begin their campaign with a trip to Sporting Gijon today and Benitez said he wants his players to be focused on the job at hand – taking three points.

“Now it takes many points to win La Liga. It isn’t like it was before. Atleti, Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal are now stronger. It can be expected that Real Madrid and Barca will drop points. Real Madrid faces every game and every competition with the idea of winning it,” he told a press conference.

Speaking about the game and his overall aims for the next 10 months, Benitez added: “I’d like to see Real Madrid winning, playing well & entertaining. And also to have balance. Tomorrow, against Sporting, we have to try to win, to secure the three points and we have to do it playing well. Real Madrid wants to win every game. We want to win the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey.”

 

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger turned down a move to Real Madrid when Los Blancos were at the height of the Galatico project, it has been revealed.

The Frenchman was approached on a number of occasions between 2001 and 2003 but opted to stay with the Gunners instead of taking over at the club and managing the likes of Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham.

It is well know that Wenger was hugely admired by president Florentino Perez for his work at the north London side, and speaking to French paper L’Equipe, former agent Marc Roger revealed Wenger is possibly the only man to reject the chance to manage the Galaticos.

“After the Makelele transfer to Chelsea, there were some meetings organised with Vieira and especially Wenger. It was his [Perez’s] dream to hire him. But Arsene, who has the mindset of a youth training coach, did not want to go there,” Roger stated.

He added: “He is the only man in the world who refused to manage the Real Madrid with Roberto Carlos, Figo, Zidane and Beckham. And he took a lot of time to refuse the offer. We started the meetings in 2001 and in 2003 we were still discussing and negotiating. In the last meeting in January or February 2003, only Valdano came as Perez did not believe it would happen anymore.”

 

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Pepe has said signing a new deal with Real Madrid is the greatest thing for him as he still has the same enthusiasm to play for the club as he did when he first joined.

The 32-year-old penned a new one-year deal on Friday meaning he’ll stay with the 10-time Champions League winners until 2017.

After the news was announced, the Portugal defender, who has formed a strong partnership in the heart of the defence alongside Sergio Ramos, said he’s only ever wanted stay at the club and never considered leaving.

“I’m really pleased, because my aim was to be at Real Madrid and this contract extension means that I have achieved that aim. Before I joined Real Madrid I dreamed of being at this club, and when I signed my contract it was the greatest thing that could happen to me in my sporting life. With this extension I’ll continue to wear this shirt with great pride and with the passion that I bring,” he commented.

And he told the official website: “I’m very lucky to have been able to do my bit for the club. It’s a club that has given me everything and one that I had always wanted to play for. I’m starting my ninth season here and I hope to maintain the standards of all the years that I’ve been here, so as to be able to give the fans plenty to shout about.”

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Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has reportedly requested his club directors to include Real Madrid youngster Borja Mayoral as part of the deal to send David de Gea to the Spanish capital.

Mayoral has made a great impression this summer as he lead the Spanish Under-19 national team to the European Championship, becoming the top scorer of the tournament.

He has had plenty of offers to leave Madrid this summer, either on loan or in a permanent move, but Los Blancos have decided to keep him at Real Madrid Castilla so they can use him for the first squad if Karim Benzema or any other striker suffers any injuries.

According to ESPN, Van Gaal is keen on the 19-year-old striker and wants Real Madrid to include him in their offer. Los Blancos are not willing to pay more than 25 million euros, and United believe that is not enough, but they could agree to that amount should Los Blancos also transfer Mayoral.

Florentino Perez knows he’s got two good goalkeepers and he could have De Gea for free next year, so he is not going to increase his bid a single cent. And there is no chance he will let such a promising player leave the club, especially when the technical staff have so much hope on Mayoral.

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Real Madrid defender Pepe has extended his contract at the club and will remain at the Santiago Bernabeu until 2017, it has been confirmed.

The Portuguese, who signed for the 10-time Champions League winners from Porto, had entered the final year of his contract but both him and the club were keen to extend their partnership for another 12 months.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “Pepe signed his contract extension with Real Madrid in the Board Room alongside the president, Florentino Pérez. The defender will remain at the club until 30 June 2017. After putting pen to paper, he was presented with a watch and a jersey bearing his name and the number 2017.”

Prior to extending his deal, a number of stories had circulated regarding his future, with Manchester City reportedly keen on signing him.

Pepe has been part of a formidable partnership over recent seasons with Sergio Ramos at the heart of the Los Blancos defence. At 32, he best days are behind him, and last season he played fewer minutes than Frenchman Raphael Varane. His experience will be key though both for Varane as he continues to learn his trade and for the Real squad overall as they look to win back the La Liga title from Barcelona this season.

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Manchester United have turned their attention to Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale after missing out on Pedro, reports have said.

The Independent and the Daily Mail say United boss Louis van Gaal is determined to add pace to his attack and has targeted the Welshman to boost United’s hopes of winning their first league title in three years.

A deal to sign Spain international Pedro looked all but done with chief executive Ed Woodward traveling to Catalonia to seal the deal. But United’s refusal to meet the buy-out clause left the door open for Chelsea to move late on.

United have added Memphis Depay and Bastian Schweinsteiger to their squad over the summer among others and Woodward believes he has time to get another big name in before the transfer window closes. A move for Bale would mean United committing around 90 to 100 million euros for his signature, reports say.

The UK media claims van Gaal is confident he can get his man. Bale signed for Real two years ago and enjoyed a superb opening season in Spain, netting an incredible solo effort in the Copa del Rey final while he also scored in the Champions League final against Atletico de Madrid.

His second season was tougher though as criticism of his form grew louder throughout the campaign. While he maintains he is happy in Spain, he could be tempted if he gets a big money offer from the Red Devils.

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Fabio Coentrao

Real Madrid left back Fabio Coentrao has asked to leave the club amid reports he is close to joining Inter Milan.

Last week, we reported, along with other news outlets, that the Portuguese was attracting the interest of the Italian giants. And now Cadena Ser says the defender has formally submitted a request to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.

Inter boss Roberto Mancini has apparently made it clear the 27-year-old would be a first team starter and has told club officials to press ahead with a deal.

While Coentrao has had to settle largely for a place on the bench in the past couple of seasons, the 10-time Champions League winners are still thought to be reluctant to let him go as they would have little time to find a replacement.

Should a deal be agreed between the two clubs it would be the second one in recent weeks with Mateo Kovacic switching the San Siro for the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this week.

Coentrao has attracted plenty of interest in the past couple of seasons. He was close to a move to Manchester United in 2013 but that collapsed at the last minute. His former side Benfica have also retained a long-term interest in taking him back to Portugal.

 

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Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio has joined La Liga rivals Espanyol on a season-long loan, the club has confirmed.

Los Blancos announced the move on their official website and social media, saying: “Real Madrid and Espanyol have reached an agreement to loan the player Marco Asensio for the 2015-2016 season.”

The 19-year-old signed for the club in the winter transfer window after impressing for Real Mallorca. He signed a six-year deal with the 10-time Champions League winners but was immediately loaned back to the Segunda Division club for the remainder of the campaign. In total, he scored seven goals from 45 appearances last season.

Asensio missed Real’s tour of Australia and China this summer as he was representing Spain Under 19s but new boss Rafa Benitez has had a look at him from close quarters in recent weeks and has decided a loan deal is best.

The switch to Espanyol will allow Asensio to gain first team football at the highest level in Spain and Real officials are confident he will be a regular starter. The Catalan outfit were also in need of a winger having sold former Los Blancos youth player Lucas Vasquez back to the Santiago Bernabeu side earlier this summer.

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