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Former Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria has again spoken of his departure from the club last summer, saying he was ready for a new challenge.

The 26-year-old moved from the Santiago Bernabeu to Premier League side Manchester United in a 75 million euro deal shortly after winning the Copa del Rey and Champions League with Los Blancos.

His sale was criticised by some sections of the Madridista fanbase, especially after a slow start to the campaign that saw Carlo Ancelotti’s men lose two of their opening three league fixtures.

But di Maria insists it was he who wanted to leave as he had achieved everything that was asked of him and that he wanted during his four-year stint in the Spanish capital.

Speaking to the FIFA website, di Maria said: “Well, I did everything asked of me: I won the Super Cup, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League and the Spanish league. I won every title except the Club World Cup, as I’d already left the club by then. I’d been there four years and the time had come for a change. I really wanted to play in the Premier League, which I’d been watching since I was a youngster every Saturday or Sunday before I’d go and play for Rosario Central. It was always a dream and goal of mine to try out in English football.”

He went on to reveal that he’s enjoying life in the north west of England, apart from the cold, wet weather.

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Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira is expected to miss the next three weeks of action after picking up a hamstring strain in Saturday’s loss to Atletico de Madrid.

The German international made only his third start in La Liga at the weekend but was removed at half time after picking up the injury. He was sent for tests on Monday morning and the club confirmed in a statement the player would be out for around three weeks.

The statement read: “Following the medical tests carried out on Sami Khedira by the Real Madrid doctors in the Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital, the player has been diagnosed with an injury to his left biceps femoris injury. His progress will be monitored.”

The World Cup winner has endured a frustration campaign which has been hampered by injury and falling behind Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the pecking order at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 27-year-old is into the last four months of his contract and has long been linked with a mover away from the Spanish capital. The likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Fiorentina and Manchester City have been linked with Khedira, but latest reports suggest he has agreed a free transfer to Bayern Munich when his contract expires.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti has a number of senior players already on the sidelines, with Modric, Pepe, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez all on the treatment table.

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes has defended his client after the Real Madrid man came in for criticism after being pictured out partying hours after his side were humiliated by city rivals Atletico de Madrid on Saturday evening.

Los Blancos lost 4-0 at the Vicente Calderon, making no wins in six against Diego Simeone’s side this season. Their lead at the top of La Liga was cut to just one point too after Barcelona won on Sunday.

And Ronaldo came under fire in the Spanish media after being pictured out at a club just hours after taking part in the defeat. He was seen with family and friends celebrating his 30th birthday.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Mendes said the criticism was over the top and Ronaldo was as angry as any Madridista about events at the Calderon.

“Any player that loses a game and more so, Ronaldo, who is a great professional, who continues to be the best professional in the world, would be angry,” he said.

“The fact is his birthday party had been organised more than a month ago and he had family coming from abroad. He didn’t want to cancel out of respect for the people that came.

“What is inadmissible is that somebody takes advantage of a private affair to release a video. Ronaldo was devastated after the defeat and people spent two hours trying to cheer him up.”

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Real Madrid are eyeing Argentinian 21-year-old striker Luciano Vietto, Spanish website DefensaCentral.com has claimed.

The Villarreal man has caught the attention of many big European clubs with his superb performances in La Liga. Napoli and Liverpool were already interested in signing him before he moved to Spain, and now Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have joined the list of admirers.

Vietto arrived to Villarreal last summer from Argentinian side Racing de Avellaneda. Yet, he could have ended up at the Santiago Bernabeu one year before, in the summer of 2013, when Argentinian press reported a possible offer from Los Blancos.

With Chicharito Hernandez heading back to Manchester next summer, Carlo Ancelotti will need to reinforce his attack and Vietto is the last name added to Los Merengues wish-list.

Real Madrid are reportedly looking for a low-profile striker who wouldn’t mind starting off from the bench and would help the team as Karim Benzema’s replacement.

Vietto meets all the requirements, since he is young and has experience in La Liga. He has proved he can play at the highest levelled and lead his team, just like he did last week against Barcelona.

The main problem, as usual, is his price. Villarreal wouldn’t even negotiate for less than 30 million euros and Florentino Perez doesn’t want to spend that much money in a regular substitute. Racing de Avellaneda could exert some pressure, since they still own 20% of the player’s rights, but Villarreal would always make the final decision.

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Real Madird’s former assistant manager Zinedine Zidane has said there are no easy games in the Champions League and Los Blancos should take nothing for granted against Schalke later this month.

The Frenchman worked alongside Carlo Ancelotti in the first team dugout last season and helped mastermind the team’s success in Europe. On their way to winning their 10th Champions League, Real thrashed Schalke in the last 16. They won 6-1 in Germany, with Bale and Ronaldo both grabbing a brace each, and they won the return in Madrid 3-1 to go through 9-2 overall.

But speaking to German paper Die Welt, the now boss of Real Madrid Castilla urged the players to be aware of the dangers Schalke could pose.

“I would like to say that Schalke has no chance and Real will safely reach the quarter-finals. But in the knockout phase anything can happen. In two games, you have double the chance of an outsider playing above themselves. You must always be cautious, especially against a German team,” the 42-year-old said.

When asked about who he thought would make the final, he said in theory it should be Bayern Munich and Real Madrid as they are the two strongest teams in Europe, but in the Champions League it is impossible to predict what will happen.

“(Bayern-Real) would be the logical final, but logic has no place in football. Past a certain level, there are no small teams anymore, especially not in the Champions League. There are no easy victories, those days are long gone,” he stated.

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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 30th birthday party on Saturday night right after Real Madrid’s 4-0 defeat against city rivals Atletico Madrid. Eight Los Blancos players attended the event at a restaurant in Madrid, causing a great controversy and upsetting many fans.

Keylor Navas, Marcelo, Fabio Coentrao, Sami Khedira, Pepe, James Rodriguez and Luka Modric joined Ronaldo in a party that gathered 150 friends of the Portuguese star. Assistant coaches Fernando Hierro and Paul Clement also showed up.

Colombian singer Kevin Roldan performed at the party and sang karaoke with Cristiano Ronaldo. Don’t miss their performance in the following video Ronldan posted on Instagram:

Rompiendo tarima Feliz cumpleaños @cristiano Madrid – España Si No Te Enamoras #KevinRoldan #Cristiano #Ronaldo #CR7 gracias Dios excelente experiencia, de Cali-Colombia para el Mundo.

Un vídeo publicado por Kevin Roldan ♛ (@kevinroldankr) el

Ronaldo turned 30 years old on February 5th, and he had been planning this party for a long time. He had picked this date knowing that the team would have two free days after the derby.

Yet, after the players put in such a poor performance against Atletico, many fans have criticized them for going out after the match. According to Spanish press, Florentino Perez isn’t happy either, and he wants to talk to the squad in person to ask them for a change in their attitude.

Captains Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, who didn’t attend the party, are also upset according to reports, especially since half of the players who went to the party were injured.

Many other fans have also shown their understanding, arguing that not cancelling the event was the normal thing to do when preparation had taken so much time and effort.

Yet, Madrid-based newspapers are burning these days with the heated debate, and it looks like the party will have certain consequences.

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Premier League side Liverpool are eying a move for Keylor Navas in the summer, according to reports.

The Costa Rican keeper only signed for Real Madrid last summer but has struggled to make an impression on Carlo Ancelotti and has only featured in seven games this campaign – twice in La Liga, three in the Copa del Rey and twice in the Champions League.

And now reports in the UK press this Sunday have suggested Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers could be ready to make his move this summer as he looks for a long-term successor to error prone Belgian Simon Mignolet.

Navas’ agent, Ricardo Cabanas, added to the speculation surrounding the 28-year-old by admitting the shot stopper would consider his options at the end of the season.

The keeper earned a move to the 10-time Champions League winners with some outstanding displays for Levante last season. He was nominated as La Liga’s best goalkeeper alongside Thibaut Courtois and Willy Caballero. He was also one of the stars of Costa Rica’s World Cup team as the minnow surpassed all expectations and made it to the quarter finals, topping a group that included England, Uruguay and Italy.

Liverpool are keen to bring in a keeper after Mignolet made some high profile errors early on in the campaign, ruling them out of a shot at the title they came so close to winning last year.

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Fabio Coentrao

Reports in the UK press have claimed Premier League trio Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are keen on signing Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao.

The Portuguese defender, who has been at the Santiago Bernabeu for the past four years, is out of favour under Carlo Ancelotti and has only started two league games this campaign haven fallen behind Marcelo in the pecking order.

The 26-year-old has been long linked with a move away from Los Blancos with a host of clubs believed to have been interested in him, including former side Benfica and Premier League leaders Chelsea, now managed by Jose Mourinho, who signed him for Real.

Now, the Sunday Express claims United, Liverrpool and Arsenal all want to sign Coentrao. Red Devils boss Louis Van Gaaal is keen to add some experience to his back line having lost Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic last summer. He is expected to make the defence his priority this summer, with Coentrao one option he’s looking at.

Liverpool and Arsenal are also on the look out for defensive reinforcements too having both conceded more goals than they would have expected this season, meaning both sides are left competing in the race for Champions League football rather than being involved in the title race.

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Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema has admitted Real Madrid had a terrible day at the office on Saturday and everything was a disaster as the succumbed to a heavy defeat to Atletico de Madrid.

The 10-time Champions League winners went into the match knowing three points at the Vicente Calderon would move them 10 points clear of Atletico and all but end their hopes of retaining the title.

But Atletico blew Real out of the water early one, scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes. They added two more in the second half to add gloss to the impressive scoreline and leave Carlo Ancelotti’s men in tatters.

Speaking after the game, Benzema said it was a day to forget and the players had to move on quickly to the next game.

“We are sad at the moment. We apologise to our fans and people who like football because everything was a disaster. I hope we win our next game. People might think that we didn’t have the will to play, but we are always motivated to play football and more so with a match like this one. The problem is that nothing worked out for us today. It is important that we remain top of the table,” he said.

And he added: “It is always difficult to play against Atlético. Now what we have to do is rest, work well and think about the next game.”

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Iker Casillas

Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas has said the players have to pick themselves up and focus on the rest of the campaign after Saturday’s loss to Atletico de Madrid.

Los Blancos lost 4-0 at the Vicente Calderon, their worst defeat in almost two years. They have now failed to beat Diego Simeone’s side in six attempts – the last time being the Champions League final in May. They have been beaten by their city rivals in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Supercopa this season.

Speaking to the club’s website, Casillas said there was little point in analysing the game. He added that the players had told hold their hands up and admit the hosts out-fought and out-thought them for 90 minutes.

Caillas stated: “Analysing the game is a mistake. Atlético were better than us, they beat is all over the park. They were superior and we have to congratulate them because they played a perfect game. We were lacking in every aspect of play. We leave here with heavy hearts, but we have to correct today’s mistakes so they don’t repeat themselves again in the future. We also have to ask the fans for forgiveness because we are the last people who want to give this image of ourselves.”

He went on to say that the players need to focus on the future as there is still a lot to play for.

“Today was a tough defeat. We have to get on with it, keep face and focus on the next match. We weren’t at our best. We are responsible for conceding four goals. I’m not going to make excuses for myself because that would look like I was trying to distance myself from any of my mistakes,” he commented.

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