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Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu believes the mental aspect of the game played a big role in the title race with the Catalans proving to be stronger than Real Madrid.

Los Cules clinched the league title with a game to spare thanks to their win at Atletico de Madrid on Sunday. Back in the autumn, Madrid seemed to be marching towards the La Liga title for the first time since 2012 thanks to an incredible winning run – 22 games in all competitions.

At the winter break, Carlo Ancelotti’s men lead by a point with a game in hand. But a poor second half of the campaign allowed Barcelona back into the fold and to get ahead – a lead they would never give up. Real dropped valuable points at Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Valencia.

Speaking to AS, the French defender said: “Madrid fought hard and made life difficult for us, but they collapsed mentally toward the end of the season.  We only got better in the final games of the season and were better in the end. I came to Barcelona to win titles and I am delighted to have conquered La Liga.”

Real Madrid won the double last year, but Barcelona are looking to go one better this year. Having conquered La Liga, they will also play in the finals of the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

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Real Madrid have sounded out Jose Mourinho about a potential return to the club, according to Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague.

The Sky Sports journalist told Revista de La Liga that the Los Blancos directors have sounded out four potential candidates – with Mourinho likely to be the most controversial among Madrid fans.

Other candidates who have been contacted by the club about potentially replacing Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the campaign include Jurgen Klopp, Rafa Benitez, and Julen Lopetegui.

Balague, a highly regarded journalist in England and Spain, said: “The idea is that Real now look for another coach. That is what normally happens when Real Madrid do not win. Real have spoken to Julen Lopetegui at Porto, to Jurgen Klopp, to Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho.

“They have already spoken to those four to see if they would be interested in coaching Real Madrid. They have spoken to Jose Mourinho – he said no to them, of course. Out of those four, Rafa is favoured by some but not others. Mourinho is favoured by some and not by others and Lopetegui is deemed as something for the future, but they have sounded out all of them.”

Mourinho spent three years in the Spanish capital but failed in his mission to win the Champions League for the club, even though he thinks he has something special about him. He also fell out with a number of his players, opponents and authorities during his time at the club.

Click here to see the video of Guillem Balague discussing the managerial candidates.

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Champions League trophy

Real Madrid will be in pot two of the Champions League group stage draw next season due to their failure to win La Liga this season.

UEFA is bringing new changes into play for next season’s edition, with the winners of the continent’s top seven leagues going into the first pot, along with the European champions. Because this year’s finalists, Juventus and Barcelona have already won their domestic leagues, the final place in pot one will go to the winners of Europe’s 8th ranked league – the Dutch Eredivisie.

It will be the first time in five years Los Blancos will not be among the top seeds when it comes to the draw being made in August, and will see the 10-time winners play another of Europe’s big guns in the group stage. Potential opponents could include Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain.

The changes will see other pot one regulars drop into the lower pots after UEFA decided to move away from the coefficient ranking used previously. Real’s city rivals Atletico de Madrid will find themselves affected, along with the likes of Manchester United, Porto and Arsenal.

Next season’s Champions League final takes place at the San Siro in Milan on May 28th.

 

 

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Keylor Navas has admitted he has found his first year at Real Madrid frustrating but says he wants to remain at the club and fight for his place.

The Costa Rican signed for Los Blancos last summer on the back of a superb season for Levante and then putting in some first rate performances for his country at the World Cup.

But the keeper has found first team opportunities hard to come by in his first season at the Santiago Bernabeu and has had to get used to playing second fiddle to Iker Casillas. He did make a rare start against Espanyol on Sunday, but will be disappointed by the way he conceded the goal in the 4-1 win over the Catalan outfit.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Navas said he wants to remain at the club.

“I have never thought about being a substitute, although it is true to say that I have had a difficult year and I have dealt with it as well as possible and been professional. When I have played, I have tried to play as well as possible. Attitude and enthusiasm have helped me to keep on going.

“I hope that next year will be different and I can win my place in the starting XI. I have five more years on my contract and I have a positive mentality. It is difficult but I am not giving in, I hope that the opportunity will arrive at some point. The competition is good because it helps me to grow,” he commented.

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Marcelo says Real Madrid fought as hard as they can but fell short in their aim to win La Liga this season.

Los Blancos recorded a 4-1 win over Espanyol on Sunday night but Barcelona clinched the title with a game to spare thanks to their win over Atletico de Madrid at the Vicente Calderon.

Having been knocked out of the Champions League during the week, Real will end the season without any major honours, although the left back said the players gave their all.

Speaking to the media after the win, Marcelo stated: “We did everything possible to win La Liga and we tried to fight to the end, but we didn’t manage it. We have to congratulate Barcelona. Now we have to play the next game, honour the Real Madrid shirt and we will see what happens next year. We had a really good season last year and this year we fought until the end.”

The Brazilian went on to discuss manager Carlo Ancelotti, whose future at the club is unclear at the moment.

“The manager has a contract with Real Madrid. I hope he stays on, he is a great manager. We have to recharge our batteries to keep on fighting next season, and we will give our all to try and be champions,” he commented.

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Carlo Ancelotti is a key figure at Real Madrid and the club would be making a big mistake if they sack him, according to Diego Simeone.

Los Blancos boss Ancelotti has come under fire in recent weeks and looks set to be sacked at the end of the season given that Real Madrid won’t win any major honours. The last time a Real manager stayed on after a season without silverware was in 1983, when the legendary Alfredo di Stefano ended the campaign empty handed.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of his side’s game with Barcelona, Simeone came out in support of the man who leads their cross city rivals.

“He is a marvellous coach and manager of groups. If they let him go, they will lose a key figure,” the Argentine stated.

Real and Atletico met each other on eight occasions this season, with Atletico coming out on top overall. They saw off Real in both their La Liga fixtures and also beat them in the Copa del Rey and Spanish Supercopa over two legs each. Real got their revenge in the Champions League quarter finals though, with Javier Hernandez scoring an 88th minute winner at the Santiago Bernabeu after the teams drew 0-0 at the Calderon a week earlier.

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Raphael Varane has said the Real Madrid players gave their all to win La Liga this season but fell short due to a combination of bad luck and failing to pick up points at vital stages of the season.

The defender reached a personal milestone in the 4-1 win over Espanyol on Sunday, with it being his 50th win in La Liga. But the three points weren’t enough as Barcelona won the league with a game to spare thanks to their victory over Atletico de Madrid at the Vicente Calderon.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Varane said the players had worked hard and promised they would come back stronger next year.

“We never threw in the towel. We all have to give it 100% right until the very end and we’ll continue to do so up until the Getafe game. We wanted to win the title, but sometimes that can’t be done. We gave it our all, this is an extremely professional side,” he commented.

And he added: “There were key moments during the season in which we weren’t able to pick up vital points and we lacked a bit of luck at times. It wasn’t enough. We have to congratulate the champions because they have done very well. We’ll try to win it next year.”

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has praised his players for showing their battling qualites in the 4-1 win over Espanyol on Sunday.

Los Blancos took the lead through a Ronaldo goal just before the hour mark but were pegged back by their hosts. They responded with three goals in the closing stages to take the three points, although it wasn’t enough to prolong the race for the title and Barcelona secured the La Liga honours with their win over Atletico de Madrid at the Vicente Calderon.

Speaking afterwards, Ancelotti said it had been hard to motivate the players following the Champions League exit, but every responded well.

“The team reacted well and had a very good attitude. It was not easy to motivate the players after Wednesday and I am grateful. Now we have to prepare professionally for the last game right up until the last minute. We have to keep our heads held high, although the team has not won, they have battled,” he said.

Speaking about the future, although it is still uncertain, Ancelotti says it is his ambition to win La Liga.

“I would like to win the most important competition, which is the Champions League. However, I would also like to win La Liga. This year we came very close and we will try again next year.”

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Real Madrid and David de Gea have reached an agreement that will bring the goalkeeper to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, Spanish sports newspaper Marca has revealed.

Los Blancos will sign the former Atletico Madrid man on a five or six-year deal and the goalkeeper will earn five million euros per season.

Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes has been a key for the success of the negotiations. He has a very good relationship with Florentino Perez and is an expert in negotiating deals between Real Madrid and Manchester United, as he did with Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel di Maria.

De Gea is eager to return to Madrid and having reached an agreement with Real he’ll now have to wait for the clubs to agree terms.

Los Merengues hope that the fact that De Gea’s contract will expire next year will cheapen the deal. The keeper’s market value is between 40 and 50 million euros, but Florentino Perez expects to pay less than 30 million.

This piece of news has caused great controversy in Madrid, since Atletico fans feel betrayed by De Gea, who grew up at the Vicente Calderon side.

De Geat will replace Iker Casillas, who is expected to leave the club this summer, and he has also been named by Vicente del Bosque to take Casillas job in the Spanish national team once the veteran keeper decides to retire.

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Real Madrid missed out on the La Liga title despite trashing Espanyol 1-4 thanks to a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo, who will almost certainly be the top scorer of La Liga and Golden Shoe this season.

The visitors had an early chance to take the lead as Daniel Carvajal delivered a whipped ball towards the back-post where Ronaldo, who was left unmarked, headed into the side-netting.

The first half didn’t have much to offer and there was only one more clear opportunity to score. Espanyol could have made it 1-0 as Caicedo almost found himself through on goal after receiving a great pass from Hector Moreno. However, Marcelo made a great tackle to steal the ball.

The Brazilian made a superb play at the start of the second half as he found space on the left wing and sent a cross for Karim Benzema. However, the Frenchman’s volley hit the post.

Ronaldo ended up giving his side the lead in a counter-attack. The Portuguese received a pass from Benzema and fired one past Kiko Casilla.

Yet, Espanyol levelled a few minutes later due to some terrible goalkeeping by Keylor Navas. Pepe sent a poor pass towards the goalkeeper, who was tackled by Stuani. The ball broke to Sergio Garcia who gave it back to Stuani to slot home.

Marcelo scored his first goal of the league season to make it 1-2 as he smashed home from close range following a mistake by Casilla.

Chicharito made a brilliant play dribbling past two defenders and sent the ball to Ronaldo, who fired into the net to make it 1-3.

The Portuguese scored his third in stoppage time as he climbed highest at the back post and headed past Casilla.

However, Barcelona won their game against Atletico Madrid 1-0 and secured the La Liga title, making Los Blancos victory useless.

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