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Premier League duo Chelsea and Manchester City have been put on alert after Real Madrid put contract talks with defender Pepe on hold.

The Daily Mirror says new Los Blancos boss Rafa Benitez wants to assess how the Portugal defender performs first before handing him a new deal. Benitez has decided the time is right to promote Raphael Varane to first team duties alongside Sergio Ramos, meaning 32-year-old Pepe will need to be prepared to accept a lesser playing role next season.

Pepe was keen to sort out a new contract soon and may be disappointed to hear the talks are on hold. He has one year left on his contract at the Santiago Bernbeu, meaning he will be free to talk to other clubs in January about a free transfer elsewhere. Should Real decide to cash in now, they would ask for a 10 million euro fee.

Chelsea are on the lookout for a new central defender and boss Jose Mourinho is a big fan of Pepe. Manchester City have enquired about Pepe on a number of occasions and could look to revive their interest and replace the error prone Martin Demichelis in the side. Pepe has played 286 times for Real since joining from Porto in 2007.

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Rafa Benitez is counting on Jese Rodriguez to be an important member of his Real Madrid squad next season and will not allow him to leave, according to reports.

Madrid-based sports daily AS says Jese and the new manager have spoken about his role, with the attacker happy to learn he is very much part of the plans for the Benitez as Real look to get back on the trophy trail.

The forward, who grew up in the youth ranks at the club, had been considering his future after falling out of favour with previous boss Carlo Ancelotti. Having battled back from a serious knee injury the previous season, Jese was disappointed with a number of snubs by the Italian.

He was angry at being given a 25-second appearance against Elche while in the game against Rayo Vallecano at Vallecas, Jese spent the whole of the second half warming up to never make it onto the field.

The club themselves were leaning toward allowing him to leave but inserting a buy back clause in any deal. But with Benitez keen to switch formation slightly, he has told Jese he plans to use him on the right hand side of the front three, with Ronaldo taking on a more central role just ahead of the trio of Jese, James and Gareth Bale.

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Former Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria has said he would swap all his medals won at club level to win just one title with Argentina.

The winger was a key part of the Real side that won the Champions League in 2014 – La Decima. Indeed, the 27-year-old picked up the man of the match award for his heroics in the final against Atletico de Madrid. In his time at the club, di Maria also won the Copa del Rey and the La Liga title.

But in quotes published on goal.com, the now Manchester United man says he wants to win a title with Argentina. He is representing his country this summer at the Copa America as the two-time World Cup winners look to get over their heartbreak of losing the World Cup final in Brazil last summer.

“I honestly think I would swap all that I have won in my career to win something with the Argentine national team,” Di Maria stated.

He added: “There is no comparison. Everything you can win with your club is special, it’s spectacular. Winning the Champions League was the best thing that has happened to me at a club, the best thing that happened to me in my life. But I don’t think anything can compare to winning something with your country.”

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New Sevilla signing Gael Kakuta says his former team mate Raphael Varane has everything it takes to be Real Madrid captain one day.

The pair used to play alongside each other at Lens before Varane moved to the Santiago Bernabeu four years ago. He has largely had to play a back up role to Pepe and Sergio Ramos at his time at the club, but is set to become a mainstay in the team under Rafa Benitez.

Rumours had suggested he was growing tired of his role on the bench and would seek a move elsewhere – with Chelsea and Manchester United mentioned as possible destinations. But speaking to AS, Kakuta said Varane has what it takes to be Real Madrid captain.

“Varane has all of the attributes needed to be the future captain of Real Madrid. I know him very well; when we started out at Lens, we would sit next to each other on the team’s away trips. We’re both originally from Lille and although he is a bit younger than me, I’d already heard a lot of good things about him,” he said.

And he added: “He played in central defence but also sometimes as a midfielder. When I made my international debut at youth level for France, he was in the side too and once I saw him, I knew right away that he was going to be a top player. What he has done so far hasn’t come as a surprise to me at all.

“He has always been a very laid-back bloke and a very intelligent guy too; he knows what he is doing and I believe that he will become Real Madrid’s captain one day in the future.”

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Martin Odegaard with Real Madrid

Real Madrid youngster Martin Odegaard says he is hoping to use this summer’s tour of Australia and China to impress Rafa Benitez and perhaps get him thinking about where he is in his plans for the squad.

The 16-year-old joined Los Blancos in January but spent most of his time training and playing with Real Madrid Castilla. He became La Liga’s youngest ever debutant when Carlo Ancelotti played him in the final game of the season.

The 10-time Champions League winners head to Melbourne in July where they take on Roma and Manchester City before two games in China against Inter and AC Milan as part of their pre-season preparations.

Speaking to Norwegian channel TV2, Odegaard said: “For now, I need to get some rest and be with my family. In a month, I’ll be back in Madrid and ready for pre-season training.

“It’s not that I’m not training in Norway, but training isn’t as tough as it is during the season. The most important thing is to enjoy yourself. If you have fun, it’s easy to want to train a lot and listen to the people who give you advice.”

Despite aiming to work his way in Benitez’ first team thoughts, it is more likely the midfielder will head out on loan this season, with Villarreal the favourites for his signature.

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The agent and brother of Sergio Ramos has said the Real Madrid defender will never play for Barcelona after claims he was offered to one of the presidential candidates.

Jordi Majo, who is running for the top job at the treble winners, said he was contacted by an intermediary about Ramos, who said he would be available to sign if he was elected as president.

Majo denied he wanted to be part of any deal to take Ramos to the Nou Camp and said he believed it was an attempt to drive up Ramos’ bargaining power and earn more money in his contract negotiations with Real.

He said: “We were offered him, a month and a half ago roughly. I don’t know if anyone else [another presidential candidate] was offered him but we are not going to play that game. We will not be a reason for him and his brother to increase their pay at Real Madrid”

And Rene Ramos has spoken out about the Barcelona move claims for his brother, telling reporters: “Sergio Ramos will never play for Barcelona.”

Reports this week suggested Manchester United are monitoring Ramos’ contract situation, but with player and club both keen to extend, it looks very much certain that the Spain international will be Real Madrid player for years to come.

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Javier Hernandez has said there are no words to describe what a great professional Cristiano Ronaldo is and that he is grateful for being able to spent a year at Real Madrid learning from the Ballon d’Or winner.

The Mexican striker has returned to Manchester United after Los Blancos decided not to take up the option to sign him. He started just seven league games in a season of frustration overall for Hernandez.

But speaking to Univision, the 27-year-old said he enjoyed working alongside Ronaldo. “Cristiano is a great player. There are no words to describe him. He is a clear example that hard work pays off. The season at Real Madrid was one full of learning. It helped me find myself again as a player. I was on the bench a lot, which was frustrating because I was not important,” he said.

Despite not featuring as much as he’d have liked, Hernandez is a popular figure at Real, and won the fans over with his last minute effort to knock rivals Atletico de Madrid out of the Champions League – something he said is his personal highlight from his year in the Spanish capital.

“The goal against Atletico was a big relief because it was a difficult year and I had so few opportunities,” he commented.

 

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Sources from Turin have revealed Paul Pogba wants to play in Spain should he leave Juventus, Spanish newspaper Marca has published.

The French international is without a doubt Europe’s most sought-after midfielder, with Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid very interested in signing him.

However, right now, the 22-year-old would only leave Juve to play in La Liga. And the only two Spanish clubs with enough money for signing him are Madrid and Barcelona.

The Azulgranas have been eyeing Pogba closely and they believe he could be a perfect replacement for Xavi, who has recently left the club. Yet, they are banned from making transfers until 2016.

Real seem to have more options to bring the France international, but that will require making a very high bid, close to 100 million euros.

Despite Zinedine Zidane’s efforts to convince him, Florentino Perez believes Pogba should not be worth more than Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale. Thus, Juve will have to lower their expectations in order to reach a deal.

Paris Saint-Germain would be willing to pay that much money, but moving back to France is Pogba’s last option.

At the moment, it seems like no offer will satisfy both Juve and Pogba, so the player will most likely spend another year in Turin.

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Premier League side Liverpool are closing in on a 22-million-euro deal for Real Madrid man Asier Illarramendi, if reports are to be believed.

Metro says Reds boss Brendan Rogers is confident of getting his man to make him Liverpool’s fourth summer signing following the arrivals of Danny Ings, James Milner and Adam Bogdan in the past couple of weeks.

Illarramendi, a Spain international, signed for Los Blancos from Real Sociedad two years ago in a 32-million-euro deal. At the time, he was seen as the long term successor to Xabi Alonso in the engine room of the team, but he has failed to progress as the club would have liked.

The player himself is believed to be keen on a move elsewhere to get regular first team football and kick start his career. Real would look to recoup most of their outlay for him should they sell.

As well as Liverpool, FA Cup winners Arsenal have an interest in Illarramendi as they look to replace the aging Mikel Arteta and Matieu Flamini in their squad. The Basque player has also been linked with move back to his former club in San Sebastian, with boss David Moyes ready to spend big to bring him back.

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Real  Madrid playmaker Isco is to stay at the club after getting assurances new boss Rafa Benitez that he is part of his plans for next season, according to Goal.com.

The website claimed one of Benitez’ first phone calls after taking over was to the 23-year-old to tell him he has a key part to play in the new regime.

Isco, a summer signing from Malaga in 2013, had been considering his future at the club after losing his place in the team to Luka Modric and James Rodriguez when the pair were fully fit. He was also unsettled by talk of another summer arrival in the shape of Paul Pogba, according to some media outlets.

Manchester City, managed by Isco’s former boss Manuel Pellegrini, have been long-term suitors and would been keen to take him to the Premier League if he decided to leave the Santiago Bernaeu. But for now it looks like he will stay in the Spanish capital and fight for his place.

Since signing for Madrid, Isco has made 106 appearances in total, scoring 17 goals and contributing 23 assists along the way. He still has three years remaining on the five-year contract he penned when he signed from Malaga.

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