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Carlo Ancelotti has said he struggled to enjoy many parts of the game against Cordoba but the most important thing was the three points.

Los Blancos found it tough going against the 14th-placed team in La Liga, conceded an early penalty after Sergio Ramos’ handball. Karim Benzema equalised just before the half hour mark, but Real found themselves down to 10 men after Cristiano Ronaldo received his marching orders for a petulant kick.

Thankfully, Gareth Bale kept his composure to convert from the spot after Real had been awarded a penalty of their own just a minute from time.

In his press conference afterwards, Ancelotti admitted the game was difficult viewing for him.

“The objective was to win all three points and stay top of La Liga. It was difficult but we did it. I did not enjoy the first half much and got annoyed a few times on the bench,” he said.

And he added: “Córdoba played very well. They fought for every ball and were very good on the break. We struggled in this game but the important thing was to take three points and we’ve done just that. I congratulate Córdoba for how well they played.

“We made the most of our dead ball situations to score the first and second goals. It wasn’t that easy to play the ball on the deck because the grass wasn’t in a good state.”

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Real Madrid’s director of Institutional Relations Emilio Butragueno confessed Los Blancos faced “a very tough match” at Cordoba but claimed the “victory was well deserved.”

“It was very tough for us. Cordoba defended very well and we earned very important three points. We fought until the end in very adverse conditions,” he admitted.

Asked about Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card, Butragueno explained he couldn’t see they play: “They were blocking my vision at that moment son I don’t know why he was sent off. I hope he won’t miss many games. That will be La Liga’s decision.”

“Those kind of play happen often, there’s no point in giving it more thought,” he added.

Butragueno also commented about Isco’s absence, stating it was not a key: “He’s an important player, but I think Khedira did a good job. We suffered a little bit, but you have to pass through difficult moments to win La Liga. And we’ve won.”

The Los Blancos legend spoke about the winter transfers. Asier Illarramendi could leave the club after Lucas Silva’s arrival. However Butragueno insisted “he is still our player for Ancelotti to count on him, we know nothing about speculations.”

About Lucas Silva he explained “we are very hopeful with his arrival, he will surely help us a lot, I’m sure.”

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Real Madrid played one of their worst matches of the season but managed to take all three points home thanks to a last-minute penalty kick.

Cordoba fought bravely and forced Los Blancos to make one mistake after another. They took the lead with an early penalty goal from Nabil Ghilas and had plenty of chances to score more, but the hosts came back with goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.

Cristiano Ronaldo illustrated Los Merengues desperation in the second half as he was sent off for striking a rival in the face.

Cordoba made it 1-0 after three minutes thanks to a doubtful penalty call from the referee. Sergio Ramos was penalised for hand ball and Ghilas coolly converted with a precise shot to the top corner.

The hosts played with very high intensity during the first minutes, and they could have made it 2-0 as Bebe led a counter-attack but failed to find Ghilas with his cross.

Without Isco in midfield, Carlo Ancelotti men lacked creativity and they struggled to threaten goalkeeper Juan Carlos, with Cordoba keeping their lines tightly closed.

Yet, the hosts conceded too many corner kicks and Los Blancos leveled in one of them. James Rodriguez sent a great cross into the box, Gareth Bale headed and the ball ended in Benzema’s foot. The Frenchman poked home from close-range to make it 1-1.

Cordoba kept on exerting a very high pressure on Los Blancos in the second half. The visitors never felt comfortable and made many defensive mistakes, allowing the Andalusians to threaten Iker Casillas.

Fede Cartabia almost scored as he dribbled Sergio Ramos and sent a powerful strike from outside the box just a few centimeters wide of the crossbar.

Florin Andone had a major chance following another mistake from Raphael Varane, who headed the ball too short back to Casillas. The Rumanian stole it and lifted it over the keeper, but his shot hit the bar.

Los Blancos were becoming more desperate every minute, and Cristiano Ronaldo proved it with an aggression that cost him a red car. The Portuguese stroke Edimar in the face.

Despite their poor performance during the previous 97 minutes, Los Merengues were lucky to have a penalty awarded with three minutes to go as Cartabia blocked Bale’s free kick with his raised hand.

The Argentinian was shown his second yellow card and the Welshman fired his spot kick past the keeper to give Los Blancos a last-minute win.

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Real Madrid officialy have announced the signing of Brazilian midfielder Lucas Silva. Cruzeiro’s president Gilvan de Pinho Tavares confirmed yesterday they had reached an agreement with Los Blancos, and the Spanish club have made it official this morning.

Los Merengues have paid 14-million euros to bring one of the most promising South American players. The 21-year-old will sign a five-year contract, ending in June 2020.

Los Blancos have published the following statement on their website:

Real Madrid C. F. and Cruzeiro Esporte Clube have reached an agreement for the transfer of the player Lucas Silva, who will be tied to the club until 30 June 2020.

The player will be unveiled on Monday 26 January at 1pm CET in the Santiago Bernabéu presidential box, after undergoing the relevant medical examination.

Subsequently, Lucas Silva will step on to the Santiago Bernabéu pitch for the first time in the Real Madrid shirt and will speak to the media in the press room.

Silva’s arrival could facilitate Asier Illarramendi’s move out of the Santiago Bernabeu, especially since Athletic Bilbao have reportedly offer 25 million euros for him.

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Cordoba Real Madrid match preview

Real Madrid will look to take advantage of the Copa del Rey defeat that has allowed them to rest during the week while La Liga rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid met in a exhausting cup tie.

Los Blancos visit Cordoba hoping to increase their lead at the top of the table, while Barcelona travel to Elche and Atletico host city rivals Rayo Vallecano.

Carlo Ancelotti will still miss Luka Modric and Pepe with injuries. Isco has also been an unexpected loss, as he hasn’t recovered on time from the muscle problems he suffered at Getafe. On the other hand, James Rodriguez will feature despite having been limited in training this week.

Los Merengues have won two straight games in La Liga and they will look to make it three. Cristiano Ronaldo will seek to extend his scoring run –he has netted 28 goals in 17 appearances in the league– against one of the weakest teams of the competition.

Cordoba, however, are having a great run in 2015. Despite sitting during many weeks at the bottom of the table, they have improved under new manager Miroslav Djukic and they are unbeaten in January.

The Serbian coach will miss right-back Eduard Campadabal due to suspension and Luso and Inigo Lopez with injuries. Patrick Ekeng is also a loss as he’s playing the African Cup of Nations with Cameroon. Meanwhile, midfielder Borja Garcia will have to sit in the stands as he’s on loan from Real Madrid and his contract bans him from playing Los Blancos.

Possible line-ups:

Cordoba: Juan Carlos; Deivid, Pantic, Crespo, Edimar; Cartabia, Rossi, Gomez, Bebe; Ghilas, Florin.

Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Bale, Khedira, Kroos, James Rodriguez; Benzema, Ronaldo.

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Real Madrid have been named as the richest club in the world for the 10th consecutive year in the latest Football Money League report published by Deloitte.

Los Blancos earned 549.5 million euros in revenue in the 2013-14 season, according to the professional services and accountancy firm. Premier League side Manchester United were second while Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich were named in third place on the list.

Real recorded a 30.6 million euro year-on-year increase, largely down to improved deals with broadcasters and a jump in commercial income. The club is the first to pass the 200 million euro mark in terms of broadcast revenue, the report says.

Dan Jones, a partner at Deloitte, said Real continue to go from strength to strength both on and off the field.

“The club’s continued success on the field is complemented by its financial strength and their accomplishment emphasizes their position as the most successful European club side of all time,” he stated.

Barcelona dropped from second to fourth after a trophy-less season at the Nou Camp while despite Manchester United’s worst season ever in the Premier League, their commercial revenues continued to grow.

In total, the revenues from the top 20 richest clubs in world football amounted to 6.2 billion euros, an 800 million euro increase on the year before.

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Real Madrid and Cordoba will meet at the Nuevo Arcangel stadium on Saturday in a clash with no recent history in the first division. Yet, the Andalusian club has a very important link with Los Blancos: Vicente del Bosque.

The former Los Merengues manager made his La Liga debut as a player for Cordoba before becoming a Madridista legend. Cordoba signed Del Bosque from Real Madrid Castilla in the 1971/72 season. The current Spanish national team coach was 20 years old back then, and Los Blancos directors decided to send him on loan to the Andalusian club so he could get minutes under his belt in the first division.

Del Bosque made his official debut on October 17th 1921 in Cordoba’s 3-1 victory over Espanyol. That was his first game in La Liga, but that season he would go on to make 19 appearances and play a total 1439 minutes.

Del Bosque could not prevent Cordoba from being relegated that year. Thus, the following season he wouldn’t continue playing in the southern city and moved to Castellon, also on a loan deal.

However, before leaving Cordoba, he handed Real Madrid a big favour. Los Blancos were fighting for the title with Barcelona, and the Azulgranas faced Cordoba in La Liga’s last match of the campaign knowing that a victory would give them the championship. Yet the Andalusians, led by Del Bosque, beat Barca 1-0 despite being relegated and helped Real Madrid win the league.

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Cruzeiro president Gilvan de Pinho Tavares has announced at a press conference that they have reached an agreement with Real Madrid to send 21-year-old midfielder Lucas Silva to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos will pay 14 million euros, despite the Brazilian club had been asking for 15 since the negotiations started.

Tavares admitted the player was pressing him to accept Los Merengues terms, since they had been rejecting the Spanish club’s offers for more than a month.

The final details of the agreement need to be hammered before Real officially announce the arrival of the promising playmaker.

Silva will reportedly sign a six-year contract with Los Blancos and his arrival could open the door Asier Illarramendi’s exit, with Athletic Bilbao and Inter Milan very interested in signing the Spaniard.

Silva will arrive to Madrid this weekend and he’s unveiling is expected for next Monday. He will wear number 16 on the back, the same he had at Cruzeiro.

After three successful seasons with Cruzeiro in which he conquered two league titles, Silva arrives eager to win more trophies with Los Blancos. He will surely be a great help for Carlo Ancelotti, who is desperate for someone who can give Toni Kross some rest.

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Cristiano Ronaldo is among the 22 candidates to win the Best Sportsman of the Year honours at the Laureus World Sports Awards.

Ronaldo and Barcelona forward Leo Messi are the only two football players on the list that includes Spanish motorcycle road racer Marc Marquez and basketball player Kevin Durant.

The Real Madrid striker was chosen as the best footballer of 2014 as he claimed his third Ballon d’Or award, obtaining 37% of the votes. The Portuguese has had an amazing year at a personal level and he hopes to seal it becoming the first football player to win such an important award.

A number of self-confessed Madridistas have received this trophy, as the list of previous winners includes Rafael Nadal and Usain Bolt. Last year, Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel won the award.

Real Madrid are also favourites to make it in the shortlist for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award after a remarkable year of success in which they picked up the Champions League, Copa del Rey, European Super Cup and Club World Cup. The candidates will be announced on February 11th. Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Spain national team are the only football teams to have ever lifted this trophy.

Both awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Shanghai on April 15th following a voting by 47 world sports legends.

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Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff has revealed he almost signed for bitter rivals Real Madrid from Ajax in 1973.

The Dutch giants were ready to sell the mercurial midfielder to Los Blancos and preferred to sell him to the Santiago Bernabeu side because the deal on offer was more lucrative to them.

But Cruyff revealed he wanted to join Los Cules because to him it represented a bigger challenge.

Speaking on a documentary on TV3, Cryuff said: “I remember my move to Spain was quite controversial. People said I was going to a fascist country. The president of Ajax wanted to sell me to Real Madrid.

He added: “I was born shortly after the war, though, and was taught not to just accept anything. Barcelona weren’t at the same level as Madrid football wise, but it was a challenge to play for a Catalan club. Barcelona was more than a club.”

Cruyff won La Liga in his first season at the Nou Camp and the Copa del Rey in 1977-78 before eventually leaving to play in the US. He returned in 1988 and elevated himself to legendary status by winning four league titles in a row and guiding Barcelona to their first European Cup success in 1991-92.

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