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Former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has said young players in England need to give up on their alcohol-fuelled lifestyles and follow the example of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish is seen as one of the next rising stars in the Premier League, with the attacking midfielder enjoying a superb second half of last season and making an appearance in the FA Cup final.

But he had made the wrong headlines this week after photos emerged of him drinking vodka and lying on a road while on holiday in Ibiza. Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling has also been in the news for all the wrong reasons, as has Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere after he led fans to sing insulting songs about Spurs while celebrating the Gunners’ FA Cup parade.

Speaking to the Independent, one-time favourite for the England job Redknapp, said players in the UK need to grow up and get on with playing their football.

“Why do they have to go out and act like idiots, get drunk, falling over? They’re professional footballers. Jack Grealish, he’s had an excellent year, an excellent second half of the season, plays in the Cup final and then goes and does that,” he said.

He added: “Not that long ago I was in the same hotel in Sardinia as Cristiano Ronaldo for 10 days, with my wife and family. I saw him every day. You can see he looks after himself. Has his dinner, possibly has a glass of wine, but he’s not going out every night.

“Why do these English players have to go and get silly drunk, and lay in the street and fall over? It’s alright for his mate who’s doing it, who’s cleaning windows, if that’s the way he wants to live.”

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Former Real Madrid midfielder Ivan Campo has called for more respect to be shown to Iker Casillas as speculation continues to surround his future.

The club captain has been linked with a move away, with a host of Premier League and Seria A sides keen to sign the 34-year-old should Los Blancos complete the most talked about transfer of the summer so far – David de Gea from Manchester United.

Casillas has come in for criticism from fans and media alike in recent months, and Campo believes that, along with the almost daily speculation about the legendary goalkeeper is out of line.

In quotes published by Goal.com, the combative midfielder stated: “Too much stuff has been said about Casillas. We have to respect Casillas. It does not matter whether Keylor stays, if De Gea comes or whether Iker stays here.

“What matters most is to show Iker the respect he deserves and then we will see what he decides. He still has an ongoing contract. Iker has enough respect to decide what he has to do.”

Campo made 60 appearances for Madrid between 1998 and 2003 and twice won the Champions League. He also picked up a La Liga winners’ medal before departing for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League.

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Real Madrid are eying a move for Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny as replacement for Sergio Ramos should the Spaniard complete a move to Manchester United.

Reports in the UK say the Red Devils have bid 45 million euros for the World Cup, European Championship and Champions League winner – who has grown frustrated at Real’s reluctance to hand him a new deal that would seen him placed among the top earners at the club.

Should United get their man, it would leave Los Blancos with bog shoes to fill and the Daily Mail, among others, says Koscielny has been identified as the man to replaced Ramos.

New manager Rafa Benitez is expected to make 28 million euro offer to take the 29-year-old from the Emirates to the Santiago Bernabeu should Ramos be sold.

Koscielny arrived in north London in 2010 from little known Lorient but has established himself as one of the key men in Arsene Wenger’s side. He scored in the FA Cup final in 2014 as Arsenal beat Hull, and was part of the defence that kept a clean sheet in the 4-0 rout of Aston Villa this year as the Gunners defended their trophy.

Should he join the 10-time Champions League winners, Koscielny would team up with France colleague Raphael Varane in the heart of the defence.

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Former Real Madrid boss Manuel Pellegrini has spoken about how he feels he changed the way football was played in Spain and how the former world champions even employed his playing style.

The now Manchester City boss has spells with Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga, and was largely praised for the way his teams played attacking, open football.

The Chilean took time out of his summer holidays to speak to El Mercurio and revealed much about his time in Spain.

“I changed the way they played in Spain, using loose midfielders instead of players in fixed positions. That was acquired by the Spain team. In La Liga, before I went to Villarreal, they used forwards as wingers but I produced more mobile midfielders with space.What I did at Villarreal was bigger than winning trophies. There I achieved what no one had ever done, and no one ever will.

“And I accomplished something no one had ever done at Malaga either. Then I went to Madrid and we had the best season in the club’s history to that point, but didn’t win trophies. I did things that no one did before. Is that a coincidence?”

Pellegrini also went on to talk about the Premier League compared to La Liga, saying the best football is played in Spain but the best league is the English one for its competitiveness and entertainment.

He also discussed his managerial rival, and former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, and how they differ – with the Pellegrini taking the back seat when his team lifts a trophy and the Portuguese liking to take centre stage and proclaim how special he is.

“When he wins, Mourinho wants to take full credit. I didn’t do that when I won the Premier League. I don’t have a problem with him. He’s not my enemy and there’s no conflict, but I disagree with him on everything. I don’t want to analyse him as a person,” he commented.

 

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Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos has requested Real Madrid to negotiate a transfer move should any club make an offer to sign him, Spanish radio station Cadena COPE has revealed.

Ramos met with Los Blancos general director Jose Angel Sanchez and confessed he wants to leave the club. He asked Sanchez to take into consideration any offer they should receive this summer.

The negotiations between Ramos and Real Madrid to extend the defender’s contract have been tough. The Andalusian wants to earn at least ten million euros per season, and Florentino Perez is not willing to offer more than 7.5 million.

Thus, Ramos’ agent has been exerting pressure through the media, claiming they’ve got an important offer from Manchester United and they are willing to accept it.

However, Perez remains firm and is open to breaking negotiations with Ramos and force him to stay at the club the two seasons he has left on his contract.

Sources from the Santiago Bernabeu have claimed Ramos will only leave if any club pays his buy-out clause, which is 200 million euros.

Rumours in England suggest Manchester United could offer Los Merengues 45 million euros plus David de Gea, but it is highly unlikely that Florentino Perez will accept that.

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James Rodriguez can go on and be the best player in the world, according to his stepfather.

The Colombian made a great impression at Los Blancos last season following his 75 million euro move from Monaco and established himself as one of the key men under Carlo Ancelotti.

The 22-year-old had made a name for himself at the World Cup, where he finished the tournament as top scorer and picked up the goal of the tournament award for his spectacular effort against Uruguay. He’s once again on duty for his country now at the Copa America and is hoping to come back to Madrid next season to get his hands on major honours.

Speaking to AS, Juan Carlos Restrepo, someone who knows James better than most having been his mentor from a young age, said the midfielder can go on to be the best in the world.

“Playing for Madrid is a dream come true for James. But personally I think it can get even better. He had a good first season with Madrid but it can get better. The team didn’t win any silverware and that needs to be rectified. This year it wasn’t possible. If he can win some major honours then that will help him in his dream to become the best player in the world,” he stated.

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Former Colombia goalkeeper René Higuita has said he considers Iker Casillas to be the best goalkeeper in the world considering all he has won.

Speculation continues to surround the Real Madrid captain as talk of David de Gea’s imminent arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu could signal an exit for the shot stopper after dedicating hie entire professional career to the club.

Casillas is the most capped player in Spain’s history and has won the World Cup and two European Championships. At club level, he has won a haul of medals with Los Blancos, including La Liga, the Champions League, Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercopa, European Super Cup and World Club Cup.

And speaking at a sponsor’s event at the Copa America, Higuita, famous for his scorpion kick at Wembley two decades ago, named the goalkeepers he considers to be the best in the world.

“I’ve always liked Iker Casillas. He’s won everything. I regard him very highly because there are few players to have won as much as him in the game,” he said.

And he added: “I also like the German guy, Manuel Neuer. He was really important for them in the World Cup and has also done some amazing things at Bayern.”

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Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has had his said on the Sergio Ramos situation, saying the defender is unhappy with the club.

The 29-year-old has been linked with a move to Manchester United in recent days, with the Red Devils reportedly planning a cash plus David de Gea swap for the World Cup, European Championship and Champions League winner.

Ramos has two years remaining on his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu and had been keen to extend his time in the Spanish capital. But president Florentino Perez has so far refused to move Ramos up the pay scale so he is in line with the higher earners in the squad such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Iker Casillas.

Speaking to talkSport, Calderon stated: “It is clear that he is unhappy because the president has refused to extend his contract. I find it like a punishment because he supported Carlo Ancelotti publicly, he said it was a mistake to sack him, and he is also backing Iker Casillas. Let us see what happens in the next few weeks. It is going to be very exciting to know what is happening. If Sergio goes to Man United, they will be very lucky.”

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ZInedine Zidane has revealed would have taken the Real Madrid job if it had been offered to him by Florentino Perez this summer.

The Frenchman worked under previous boss Carlo Ancelotti in the 2013-14 season before taking charge of Real Madrid Castilla last season. The move was seen as the next step in his progression to the main job one day and media talk suggested that he was one of the favourites to take over from the Italian when he was fired at the end of this season.

Perez though had other ideas and went for Rafa Benitez as the new manager, meaning Zidane will still be in charge of the reserve side next season. His stock fell somewhat when he failed to guide them to promotion from Spain’s third tier to the second tier.

Speaking to France Football, Zidane admitted he would have taken the job if it had been offered to him because he’s an ambitious coach. But he recognised the time wasn’t right for him and he’s happy to wait for his chance.

“I would have accepted the chance to replace Ancelotti. I consider myself a professional and I would not have turned down the challenge. It was considered that this was not the moment. Things happen in a natural way — you do not need to look for them. It was not written to be like that. [Perez] took the decision to choose another coach, and that’s that,” he said.

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Sergio Ramos

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has said criticism of Sergio Ramos by some sections of the Manchester Uited fanbase is unfair.

The 29-year-old defender is being linked with a sensational summer move to Old Trafford after becoming reportedly unhappy over his contract impasse at Los Blancos along with the club’s refusal to deny he would be used as a presidential play thing among the candidates eying the top job at Barcelona.

While the majority of United fans would welcome the World Cup, European Championship and Champions League winner to the club, some have been less than enthusiastic about Ramos’ disciplinary record and ability to pick up red cards on a fairly regular basis.

But speaking to talkSport, Carragher said any criticism of him is ludicrous.

“I get a bit wound up by the criticism Ramos gets. This is a fella who has won everything, he plays for one of the best clubs in the world and one of the best international sides we’ve ever seen,” he said.

He added: “He is rash at times, he has moments of madness and does get overly emotional in games, that’s always been a problem for him, but let’s not forget that it’s a problem for Wayne Rooney as well.

“If his trophy record doesn’t give him a bit of credit, what chance have I, or any of the centre-backs in the Premier League? I think it’s disrespectful – he’s won nearly 130 caps for Spain! He’s not playing for Mickey Mouse teams.”

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