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Chelsea are ready to launch a 55-million-euro bid to sign Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, according to Bristish tabloid Daily Mirror.

The Frenchman has been a major target for Jose Mourinho since he moved from Madrid to London in 2013. Los Blancos have never been interested in selling, but Chelsea have seen the likelihood of the transfer increased as Pepe is negotiating a contract extension with the Santiago Bernabeu club.

According to the Daily Mail, Pepe has been offered a deal until 2017 and that hasn’t pleased Varane, who will be willing to move out if he keeps sitting on the bench.

The 21-year-old is one of Europe’s most promising defenders, but he has failed to earn a spot in the starting eleven this season following Pepe’s great performances in the first third of the season.

Given the chance that Los Merengues would consider selling him, Jose Mourinho has reportedly convinced Roman Abramovich to make an attractive 55-million offer, which would be difficult to turn down.

However, Florentino Perez is a great admirer of the Frenchman and sources from Spain have suggested he’s spoken to Carlo Ancelotti to convince the Italian to give Varane more minutes of play. Real Madrid president doesn’t want the defender to ask for a transfer, and keeping him happy is the only solution.

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Real Madrid can retain the Champions League this season, says assistant boss Paul Clement.

The Englishman was part of the coaching staff that worked alongside Carlo Ancelotti as the club finally won the Decima last year in a memorable 4-1 win over Atletico de Madrid in Lisbon.

And they have one foot in the quarter finals of this season’s competition already having beaten Bundesliga outfit Schalke 2-0 in Germany with the second leg in Madrid coming up in a couple of weeks.

And speaking in an exclusive interview with ITV, Clement said with the injury list shrinking and key players coming back to full fitness, Real can be confident going into the final stages of the season.

“We’re into a very important part of the season now. Fighting on two fronts, top of the league and in the last 16 of the Champions League in a good position against Schalke,” he said.

And he added: “The only disappointment at this stage is we went out to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey but we’re in a good position, with Ramos and James Rodriguez currently out injured, very likely that Ramos will return soon, we’ll be up to pretty much full strength.

“Our priority is to win the league and win the Champions League. That’s a very difficult thing to do, last year in the Champions League final, scoring the equaliser in the 93rd minute and then going on to win it just shows the fine lines that are there.”

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Raphael Varane has called on Real Madrid’s players and fans to be more united than ever as they look to overcome a slump in form and regain momentum in the title race.

Los Blancos lost 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames on Saturday evening meaning Barcelona can overtake them in the league. It means Carlo Ancelotti’s men will most probably have to win at the Camp Nou if they are to have any hope of winning La Liga for the first time since 2012.

Speak to reporters after the game, Varane said the players were disappointed with events in the Basque Country. But he added the players are determined to put things right as soon as possible.

“We are not enjoying our best moment of form at the moment. We are lacking in a few small things. They are little details that end up costing you dearly. We need to be more united than ever, continue working and stay positive. Nothing has been decided yet, we are going to fight until the end like we know how to because the upcoming weeks are going to be decisive,” he stated.

And he added: “We are lacking that pass that can damage opponents. The attitude is good, we have to keep fighting and with that good attitude things will improve. We know the match in the Camp Nou will be very important and we will prepare well for it, but before that we have to win against Schalke and Levante.”

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Isco

Real Madrid midfielder Isco has said the team can still win La Liga despite taking just one point from their last two games.

Los Blancos followed up the 1-1 draw with Villarreal last weekend with a 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. If Barcelona win at home to Rayo Vallecano this afternoon, they will move ahead of Real, with the Clasico coming up in two weeks time.

Speaking after the game, Isco said the players were at a loss to explain their sudden loss in form but added they can still get a result in Barcelona and lift the title.

“We leave here with a bad feeling in our stomachs because this is now two straight games without a win and that is a real shame,” the Spain international told reporters.

He continued: “Lately we have been lacking a bit of freshness up front and that is not normal for Real Madrid, but it is a matter of phases. Things aren’t going that well now but that’s certain to change.

“The league is difficult but it is long and we’ll go to Camp Nou in a couple of weeks with all the enthusiasm in the world. It is a decisive match. The team is physically well, so that’s not an excuse. Things are a little bad now but this happens from time to time.”

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Carlo Ancelotti took responsibility for Real Madrid’s loss against Athletic Bilbao and confessed it is “getting complicated” to win La Liga.

“I’ve got great responsibility for this loss. Other coaches would say that is not their team when they play badly, but I do claim it’s my team. I’m not going to let them down. La Liga title is getting complicated but we are going to fight,” the Italian claimed.

“It was a levelled game. Athletic defended well, tightly closed, and it was good for them. It wasn’t a defensive problem for us, but a problem in attack. We have just scored one goal in the last two games. We’re lacking efficiency,” Ancelotti added.

The Los Blancos manager admitted the team “needs another way of attacking, playing faster, with shorter possessions.” “What we’re doing now in attack is a bit confusing,” he said.

Asked about the players’ physical fitness, Ancelotti said “it’s not a physical problem, we’ve been good in that aspect.”

“Regarding motivation and the mood in the squad everything is under control. I think the team is focussed and united, but we need to fix the mistakes we’re making. We have scored plenty of goals this season, but the truth is we have to play better in attack,” he concluded.

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Real Madrid suffered a blow in their attempt to win La Liga as they lost to Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in their visit to San Mames.

Aritz Aduriz goal left the door open for Barcelona to take the lead in the league. The Azulgranas will overtake Los Blancos in the table if they manage to beat Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

The hosts’ first-half goal put Los Merengues to the sword, and despite dominating possession, Carlo Ancelotti men were unable to turn it into goals. Athletic defended with their lives to earn their fourth win in six games.

Real had the first chance to score after ten minutes. Daniel Carvajal turned a pass towards Karim Benzema but the Frenchman couldn’t find the target.

In the 26th minute, Aduriz broke the deadlock as Mikel Rico floated a ball into the area. The striker leaped to send a perfect header into the back of the net.

Los Blancos took control of possession after the goal, but Athletic defended with their lines tightly closed and prevented the visitors from threatening Gorka Iraizoz.

In the second half, Madrid were more intense and had to early chances to level. Cristiano Ronaldo teed up Benzema to a seemingly inevitable finish almost on the goal line, but Mikel Balenziaga slided in with impeccable timing to deny the Frenchman.

A couple of minutes later, Gareth Bale stormed to the byline down the right but the goalkeeper palmed the ball away ahead of Ronaldo.

Aduriz could have made it 2-0 as he beat Pepe in the air and sent a powerful header, but the ball hit the woodwork.

Real desperately attempted to score in the last minutes and Bale was close to a stunning leveller. The Welshman sent an impressive effort from 30 metres that struck the post and Chicharito Hernandez wasted the rebound.

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Real Madrid assistant boss Paul Clement has said he wants to be a manager in England one day as he looks to take on a top job by himself in the future.

The former PE teacher has worked as Carlo Ancelotti’s right hand man since the Italian took over at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2013 and helped guide the club to four trophies in their first 15 months in charge – the Champions League, Copa del Rey, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.

Prior to arriving in the Spanish capital, the pair worked together at Chelsea and PSG where the also enjoyed plenty of success.

The Englishman has been linked with a number of vacancies and is one of the favourites to take over at QPR next season following the departure of Harry Redknapp.

And speaking to ITV, Clement said he’d love to take on a job as a manager in his homeland, but says he is enjoying is work in Madrid for now.

“I want to try and stay here as long as possible. History says that’s a difficult thing to do, both as a player and both as a coach here – it’s a very transient nature here. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to work with these players, with this manager here and hopefully it’ll continue for many years,” he said.

And he added: “My own ambition is someday to be a manager or a head coach in my own right. Hopefully that will be sometime soon. I’d like to go back to England and work, I’ve had a fantastic experience working abroad both in France and Spain it’s really broadened my knowledge as a coach, and culturally as a person as well it’s been a fantastic lifestyle opportunity and experience.

“But I really see the best opportunity for me to go back and work in England but I don’t rule out other opportunities in other countries. I have an open mind to things.”

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Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid match preview

Real Madrid will look to improve their game as they pay a visit to Athletic Bilbao. Los Blancos performance last week against Villarreal was far from convincing and they need a win to calm their fans’ nerves.

Luka Modric has not recovered on time to make it in the squad, although he’s expected to feature next week against Schalke. Thus, Lucas Silva will start again alongside Toni Kroos in midfield.

Carlo Ancelotti will also miss Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez, who are still recovering from their injuries. Pepe and Raphael Varane will be the centre-backs, while Daniel Carvajal and Marcelo will complete the defence.

Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema will be in charge of the attack. The Portuguese will look to extend his scoring form as he leads the league’s top scorers ranking with 30 goals, three more than Leo Messi.

Athletic have won three of their last five games. They are missing important players as Ander Iturraspe is injured and Mikel San Jose is suspended.

Things will be heated up at San Mames as Real Madrid refused this week to allow Athletic and Barcelona to play the Copa del Rey final at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Possible line-ups:

Athletic Bilbao: Iraizoz; Etxeita, Gurpegui, Laporte, Balenziaga; Susaeta, Mikel Rico, Beñat, Muniain; De Marcos, Aduriz.

Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo; Bale, Silva, Kroos, Isco; Benzema, Ronaldo.

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Real Madrid face Athletic Bilbao on Saturday aiming to return to winning days after last Sunday’s draw against Villarreal. A victory would be quite important for Los Blancos also from a statistical point of view since the last three times they won La Liga they had earned all three points in their visit to Bilbao.

The first precedent of this curious statistic dates back to the 2006-07 season. Managed by Fabio Capello, Los Merengues conquered the La Liga title that year. They lifted the trophy thanks to their better goal average, since Barcelona had earned the same points, so the San Mames victory was quite important.

Los Blancos succeeded at the old San Mames beating Atletic 1-4 thanks to goals from Sergio Ramos, Guti and Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who scored a brace.

The following season, this time with Bernd Schuster on the bench, Madrid also ended leading the table and winning the championship, and again they got good luck from beating Athletic. They defeated Los Leones 0-1 thanks to a Van Nistelrooy goal.

The last time Madrid won La Liga, in the 2011-12 season they curiously also defeated Athletic at their stadium. In fact, they officially became champions after beating the Basques 0-3 with goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil.

Last season Madrid brought a 1-1 draw from San Mames and Atletico Madrid ended up winning the title. Just a coincidence?

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Former Mexico international Jose Antonio Noriega has said compatriot Javier Hernandez must not give up hope at Real Madrid.

The 27-year-old forward, on loan from Manchester United, has only made one league start all season – back in October – and has featured in just 67 minutes of league action since then.

Reports in Spain have suggested Los Blancos regret ever signing Chicharito and will not be taking up the option to sign him at the end of the campaign. With United unlikely to offer him first team football next season, it seems the Mexican will have a decision to make come the summer as to where he wants to continue his career.

But speaking to Marca, Noriega said the striker shouldn’t be too downhearted or throw in the towel at the Santiago Bernabeu just yet.

“I do not think Chicharito was wrong to accept the loan to Madrid. They are the best team in the world in terms of history, they are the richest club in the world and they are European champions. Anyone would want to play for Real Madrid. The important thing in life is to have fun and garner could memories and experiences,” he said.

And he added: “Whether he will ever get the opportunity to shine rests in Madrid’s corner. If they are struggling to score, they might turn to him for options. If they are doing well, the relaxation in the squad might help him get a chance. If I were him, I would keep fighting my corner. He must make the coach reconsider his stance with joy and optimism in his game. He is a great professional. He should wait until the end of the season to consider his future, irrespective.”

 

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