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Former Real Madrid winger Rafael van der Vaart has said the pressure the players are under at the club is crazy.

The Dutchman has returned to La Liga this season with Real Betis after playing at the Santiago Bernabeu for two years between 2008 and 2010. He left for Tottenham Hotspur where he became a fans’ favourite at White Hart Lane.

Speaking about his time in the Spanish capital, the 32-year-old said the pressure to succeed is enormous as are the demands on players and staff.

In quotes published by AS, Van der Vaart said: “At Real Madrid, if you win nothing it’s deemed as a major fiasco. Madrid are the most impatient club in the world. You lose a game and it’s as if the world has ended. I am proud of having spent two years there, playing and scoring for the team.

“I arrived these when Calderon was president, Mijatovic was sporting director and Schuster was first team coach. In just three months all three were all gone, crazy.”

He went on to discuss the departure of Iker Casillas, saying it was unfair on the club legend.

“Casillas’ exit was sad. He won so much there that the way he left was a total lack of respect for him. Casillas is synonymous with Real Madrid, the club ran through his blood. I hope he gets a chance at Porto to prove just how good he still is.”

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Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has said the Red Devils should let David de Gea return to Spain and move on.

The on-off transfer saga has dragged on all summer, with reports the goalkeeper is keen on a return to the Spanish capital. But United are refusing to deal with Los Blancos and would rather allow him to leave on a free next summer when his contract expires than deal with the 10-time Champions League winners.

Speaking to the New Straits Times, Schmeichel, still a fans’ favourite at Old Trafford, said there is no point in having an unsettled player at the club and that de Gea should be allowed to leave so all parties can move on.

“David is an absolute star at United and I think he enjoys playing there – but, home is calling and we must respect that. Another top team wants him. We need to have the situation resolved so everyone can move on,” he commented.

And the ex-United star went on to add: “How is he going to perform when his future is unsettled? The most important thing right now is the boy gets to know where he’s playing so he can commit fully on the field.”

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Not content with criticising Rafa Benitez’ wife and the Real Madrid manager’s diet, Jose Mourinho has continued his attack, this time over the Spaniard’s management of John Terry.

In a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s Community Shield match against FA Cup holders Arsenal, Mourinho said captain Terry was a forgotten man under Benitez a few years ago.

Veteran defender Terry has always posted his flag to Mourinho’s mast and was well-known to be a disruptive influence when Benitez was in charge at Stamford Bridge in 2012-13. Despite that, Benitez showed his tactical nous by leading the west London club to success in the Europa League.

At the same time, Mourinho was busy falling out with most of his squad at the Santiago Bernabeu, making enemies with the Spanish FA, and failing to win the Champions League – or any other major honour for that matter that season.

Forgetting the success Benitez had at Chelsea without Terry, Mourinho stated: “Certainly a couple of years ago, Terry disappeared. A couple of injuries, one or two managers that stopped believing in him at the club, bringing in other defenders that they thought would be John’s replacement.

“And especially in the season before I came, which was Rafael Benitez’s season, I thought ‘this guy’s finished’ because he’s not playing finals, he’s not playing in big matches. I thought he was in trouble.”

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Luka Modric

Luka Modric says the Real Madrid players loved their time in China and were delighted to get the opportunity to meet so many Los Blancos fans.

The players arrived back in Madrid on Friday after more than two weeks away in which they took in trips to Australia and China. In both countries, the team picked up trophies – the International Champions Cup.

While pre-season is important for the players to work on their fitness and match sharpness ahead of a new campaign, it also provides the club to carry out commercial activities and the players to get to know fans of Los Blancos outside of Spain.

And Modric, looking to maintain his fitness this season after an injury ravaged campaign last time out, said the Real players enjoyed their time in China.

Speaking to the club’s official website, the Croatian said: “The win feels great. We’re happy to have won another trophy in preseason. We’ve really enjoyed these six days in China with our fans and we have to thank them for their support.”

Since joining Real from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, Modric has scored seven goals in 129 appearances for the side. He played a key role in securing the Champions League for the club in 2014 – La Decima.

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Real Madrid keep working to build a strong team for the future, signing young players with great potential.

Earlier this week they secured the signing of defender Jesus Vallejo, and now they are working on bringing Betis 18-year-old Dani Ceballos.

The young midfielder completed a great season with his club, winning the Spanish second division title and helping the team return to La Liga.

He was also one of the best players of the Spanish national team that has recently won the European Under-19 Championship, and he has caught the attention of many big European.

Real aim to take the lead in the race to sign Ceballos, according to Spanish newspaper Marca, and they have already contacted the footballer.

Ceballos contract with Betis will expire in 2016, although the club can extend it for one more year following La Liga’s especial regulation for Under-23 players.

His buy-out clause is 12 million euros. However, his agency Bahia Internacional believe he could be free to leave Betis for only three million euros.

Betis are not willing to negotiate and insist they will keep him at any cost, but Florentino Perez is an expert managing this kind of situations and he will not give up easily.

Real Madrid signed wonderkids Martin Odegaard and Marco Asensio last winter, and this month they could bring other three pearls to their youth system: Ceballos, Vallejo and Chinese 19-year-old Lin Liangming.

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Real Madrid goalkeeper Kiko Casilla has claimed he’s not feeling any pressure after arriving at the club this summer to replace Los Blancos legend Iker Casillas.

The Spaniard was the hero in Los Merengues victory over AC Milan and he was very happy with his performance: “These are tournaments that we love to play because they help us prepare for the season, which is going to be long, the tournaments are always better when you win and play well. I was last in the penalty shootout and I managed to save one and score one. I’m old enough not to let the pressure get to me.”

Asked about the rivalry with Keylor Navas to earn the starting goalkeeper role, Casilla said: “I’m just another player in the team and my plan is to work hard. I’m going to do the best I can, help the team to the best of my ability and after that let whoever has to decide, decide.”

Casilla grew up at Real Madrid’s youth system, and he believes that is helping him adapting faster: “It’s much easier fitting into a team when you already have friends there and a technical team who helps speed the process up. Apart from that I already knew a lot of people here and that helps. I remember when I arrived here, at the beginning. Playing well at Espanyol has got me here again and I’m going to make the most of it and enjoy it.”

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Liverpool are ready to offer Real Madrid 20 million euros to bring Real Madrid winger Denis Cheryshev to Anfield Road, British daily The Sun has reported.

The Reds are seeking a replacement for Raheem Sterling, who has recently completed an 68-million-euro move to Manchester City.

The 24-year-old is one of the most sought-after left wingers in Europe following his superb season at Villarreal.

Cheryshev is completing a brilliant pre-season with Los Blancos and Rafa Benitez has to make a decision on whether he wants to keep him or let him leave.

Los Merengues directors had planned to send the Russian international on loan again next season so he could keep developing his game, but should an interesting offer arrive, they could consider a sale.

Benitez is very pleased with the player’s attitude and he could choose to keep him in the squad, but that decision will not be made until August 9th. Should the manager decide to let him go, the club would start considering their options at that moment.

Cheryshev was loaned at Villarreal last season, where he made 40 appearances, scoring seven goals and providing 11 assists.

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Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez has said he is delighted with his team ahead of the new season.

Los Blancos face AC Milan in their second game in China after beating Inter Milan earlier this week. Afterwards, they head back to Madrid before taking part in the Audi Cup in Germany.

Speaking at a press conference before the game against the Italian giants, Benitez said he was happy with what he had seen in pre-season and that he would reassess whether any signings were necessary when they land back on Spanish soil.

“I have an amazing team and I’m very happy with it. My aim is to get great performances out of a great group. I’m focused on helping the players improve every day. When we arrive in Madrid we will make all  necessary evaluations.

“We are in a preseason where we have seen the team play well and show 100% commitment. We will assess possible exits when we are in Madrid. They are all good footballers and have given it their all,” he told reporters.

The new boss was then asked if he wanted to respond to Jose Mourinho’s latest comments about his diet, Benitez showed the difference in class between the two men, saying: “I’m the Real Madrid coach. I like football, I understand football and for this reason I only speak about football. We are here to prepare for the game against AC Milan and a tour that is going very well. I want to talk about the present and the future, which I hope will be here at Madrid for many years.”

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Rafa Benitez made a positive analysis of Real Madrid’s victory against AC Milan in the International Champions Cup, and in general confessed he is very satisfied with the whole tour.

“This match is the end of the tour […] The overall assessment is very positive on a tour of these characteristics. The team deserves praise for its attitude, for its good play and for the results it has picked up, he said in a press conference after the game.

Both Keylor Navas and Kiko Casilla had a great performance in the match, and Benitez praised both: “I had a good goalkeeper in the first half (Navas), another in the second (Casilla) and a third waiting, and in case that’s misinterpreted I mean the lad on the bench. I reiterate that we have to keep on working and things will steadily take shape. ”

However, Benitez confessed there are still things to improve: “We knew the characteristics of the team. In some passages they’ve shown good bite in attack and we’re steadily making adjustments in defence so as not to concede goals. It’s important that we continue to score goals and avoid letting any in. We’ve had some very good passages during the tour”.

Benitez also sent a message to the fans: “We’re going to work hard, we’re going to show desire and we’re going to be all out to do the right things, showing common sense, and from there the quality of the players is what makes the difference.”

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Kiko Casilla was the hero as Real Madrid beat AC Milan on penalties in the International Champions Cup.

The 90 minutes ended 0-0 and the new Los Blancos goalkeeper scored a goal and made the crucial save that gave his team a 10-9 victory.

Milan started brightly, with Luca Antonelli and M’Baye Niang having two chances to score. Yet, Raphael Varane and Keylor Navas denied them.

Los Merengues reacted midway through the first half and Toni Kroos was close to opening the score with a precise shot from the edge of the box that was just wide.

Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez saved a header from Cristiano Ronaldo after a brilliant play by Isco.

At the other end, Casilla brilliantly denied Carlos Bacca’s stinging right-footed shot from the edge of the area.

The harsh weather conditions started having a negative impact on the game, and both struggle to reach the rival’s box.

Yet, with nine minutes to go, Bacca took advantage of an error from Sergio Ramos ad found himself with only the goalie to beat. However, Casilla made another great save before becoming the hero in the penalty shoots that gave Los Blancos the triumph.

Kroos and Bacca both missed and it went to sudden death at 4-4. Casilla scored and then denied young Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand Real the victory.

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