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The serious knee injury sustained by Colombian striker Radamel Falcao last season destroyed his hopes of securing a dream move to Real Madrid, according to a high profile journalist.

Jaime Dinas, a Colombian journalist who has covered the careers of Falcao and international team mate James Rodriguez, said the former Atletico de Madrid man had his heart set on a move to Madrid from Monaco before the injury ended his season in January last year. He also missed the World Cup, with Rodriguez stepping up to become the star man for his country.

Speaking on Spanish football show El Chiringuito this week, Dinas was asked for some insight into both players. On Falcao’s injury, he commented: “The institution weren’t going to take a risk on a player whose condition was such an uncertainty. That’s why Manchester United took him on loan.

“He suffered a real low with his injury, because he knew he had a great chance of signing for one of the great elite clubs, and that the dream was now over.”

The reporter also said the injury affected his relationship with Rodriguez, who has become a star at Real and with his country. The pair remain good friends, but Falcao was hit hard by having to watch the World Cup on the sidelines.

“Though he has a great friendship with James, that hit him very hard,” Dinas said.

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Arrigo Sacchi has revealed in an interview that he tried to sign Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo when the player was still an up-and-coming teenager at Sporting Lisbon.

The Italian, who was director of football at Los Blancos for one season, was manager of Parma at the time – 2001 – when he contacted Sporting about signing the talented teenage winger.

But he was told he hadn’t offered enough money and wouldn’t be sold. Sacchi only spent one season at Parma and never had the chance to return with a higher bid, and Ronaldo was sold to Manchester United in 2003, spending six seasons in the north west of England prior to his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009 for a world record 95 million euros.

Speaking about a recent trip to Valdebebas to observe his friend Carlo Ancelotti’s training methods, Sacchi was reminded of the time he bid for Ronaldo.

“When [Ronaldo] saw me, he greeted me cordially, stepped off his exercise bike and told me: ‘I know that your Parma wanted to buy me when I was at Sporting, but unfortunately for you Manchester offered more’,” the 68-year-old stated.

And he continued: “Cristiano has a great relationship with his teammates and with Carlo in particular. He is well-educated and most of all, modest.”

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Sergio Ramos

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has responded to Arrigo Sacchi’s claims that the delay over a contract extension at the club are because of money.

The former Italian manager told La Gazzetta dello Sport that Ramos had sought him out for advice on a recent visit to Valdebebas. According to Sacchi, Ramos told him he was concerned about signing a new deal with the 10-time Champions League winners because he knew club president Florentino Perez would offer less money.

“I spoke to my friend Sergio Ramos at the end of the session. He asked me what I thought about his contract problems. He told me: ‘I want to renew my contract, but Florentino is offering me less money. What do you think?'” the Italian said. He added that he told Ramos to stay at the club, citing the examples of Andrei Shevchenko and Kaka at AC Milan, who left the club for more money but saw their careers dwindle.
In response to the claims, Ramos told his followers on Twitter that he’s not worried about his renewal and he’s not motivated by money.

“With all the love and respect to Sacchi, I’m not worried about my renewal. I’ve never been driven by money,” he replied. “The happiness of myself and my family is above everything.”

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Real Madrid left back Marcelo has said playing for the club is an incredible experience that is unlikely to be similar anywhere else in the world.

The 26-year-old has established himself as the first choice left back under Carlo Ancelotti and played a key role in helping the team win the Copa del Rey, Champions League and European Super Cup this year.

He told FIFA that the players are under a lot of pressure at Los Blancos, but the experience is incredible.

“I spent time in just one dressing room before coming to Madrid. I don’t know if this is the hardest one to be because we can be pretty difficult to get along with, but what I do know is that things really work at Madrid. It’s an incredible place to play football,” he stated.

The defender had plenty of words of praise for his boss, saying the Italian understands the players and lets them do their jobs.

“The boss asks me to play for the team, to help out in defence and to contribute my energy in attack. He (Ancelotti) was a player himself and you can tell. He understands us. He knows when to talk, and that’s very important because players can be difficult to deal with at times.”

Finally, the Brazilian switched his attention to the Club World Cup, saying the team is motivated to win another trophy.

“We always try to do our best in every competition we play. We always want to reach the final and win. It’s been a while since Real Madrid have played in this tournament, and we’re up for it,” he commented.

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Real Madrid assistant manager Paul Clement has insisted he would love to be head coach one day, but for now he is happy to be at Real Madrid and help them in their quest to win more trophies.

The Englishman arrived in the Spanish capital with Carlo Ancelotti having worked under him at Chelsea and PSG. The pair plotted Madrid’s win in the Champions League, Copa del Rey and European Super Cup, and while Ancelotti gets the headlines, Clement’s progress hasn’t gone unnoticed back home in England.

In an interview with the Independent newspaper, Clement revealed he would love to be a manager one day.

“As long as I can. I’m enjoying it tremendously and it’s the chance to win big trophies,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I haven’t got my eye on what I want to do next, which is to try to be a head coach somewhere.”

Speaking about the current squad at the Santiago Bernabeu, Clement said the players love playing with each other but all are hugely competitive – something that he demands from his players.

“The level here is so high, both physically and technically, and it just continues to improve with James and Kroos coming in. But they are also tremendously competitive. We can be doing a shooting drill and they’ll say, ‘Let’s make this into a competition’. It’s the same with the keep-ball exercises and the passing drills,” he comment.

“When the final whistle goes in one of those small-sided games there is always a massive cheer going up from the team that has won the match. And the ones that haven’t won, their heads will go down and they’ll get straight in to change, really disappointed: ‘Lost the game today, got to win it tomorrow’.”

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Carlo Ancelotti has hit back at Brazil manager’s claim that Marcelo is not good enough for the national team, saying he’s the best left-back in the world.

The 26-year-old was part of the Brazil side that suffered a humiliating World Cup on home soil last summer. Having cruised on the knock-out stages, the hosts were crushed 7-1 by Germany at the semi-final stage – sending the football mad nation into mourning and leaving them doing much soul searching.

Luis Felipe Scolari was relieved of his managerial duties and succeeded by Dunga. Since his appointment, the 1994 World Cup-winning captain hasn’t picked the Real Madrid left-back. Last week, he told the media Marcelo was too attacking and didn’t think he’s efficient enough for the national side.

Speaking to journalists, Carlo Ancelotti his back, saying Marcelo is one of the best defenders in the world.

“Marcelo is one of the best wide players in the world, if not the best,” he said. “Brazil did not have a good World Cup but that was not Marcelo’s fault.”

Marcelo joined Los Blancos in 2006 and has made 290 appearances for the club, scoring 20 goals along the way. He scored the third goal in Real’s Champions League win over Atletico de Madrid in May as Los Blancos won La Decima.

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Iker Casillas has said his penalty save to keep Almeria striker Verza at bay was the key moment in the win on Friday night.

Trailing 2-1 at the time, Verza had the opportunity to equalise for the hosts against their illustrious opponents. But World Cup winning captain Casillas dived low to his left to keep out the Spaniards well-struck effort. Los Blancos went on to score two late goals through Cristiano Ronaldo to finish as 4-1 winners and extend their lead at the top of La Liga.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Casillas said the penalty was an important moment and Almeria were getting on top of Real.

“It was a key moment. If we had let the goal in it would have been different because they would have equalised, but the team reacted and really got into the game. We leave here home happy,” the 33-year-old said.

Like his boss, Casillas then switched his attention to the Club World Cup, saying the players want to add more silverware to the trophy cabinet.

“It’s a new competition for us. It is a different competition and also really important, we are going to try and make our fans happy. Fingers crossed that we, Madrid and the fans will have another success to celebrate. It will be difficult because as we saw today, things can get complicated and that could also happen at the Club World Cup”.

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Carlo Ancelotti has said 2014 has been a great year for the club but he wants to end it on a high by winning the Club World Cup.

The highlight of the year is undoubtedly the win in the Champions League. Los Blancos ended their 12-year wait for La Decima by seeing off Atletico de Madrid 4-1 in Lisbon on a famous night in May.

Ancelotti also guided the team to success in the Copa del Rey and European Super Cup, while he’s also lead the team to new heights this season – recently breaking the Spanish record for consecutive wins in a row – currently 19.

Having seen of Almeria 4-1 on Friday night to make it 20 wins in a row, the Italian switched his attention to the tournament in Morocco, saying he wants to win it.

“We finished the year well in the league and now it is time to concentrate on the Club World Cup, we have to win it. If I had to give the team a grade, they would get a very high mark. We aim to win every competition we play in. There is a good atmosphere and we will go out there to win,” he told reporters.

Speaking about the match in the south of Spain, Ancelotti said the 4-1 scoreline was flattering and that Los Blancos were pushed all the way.

“It wasn’t smooth sailing. They put a lot of pressure on us but our quality came through and we were able to win”.

“They fought hard and pressured a lot. We had difficulty keeping possession, we missed passes, but we were calm enough to win. It was difficult because they played with real hope and heart. The entire team suffered but in the end, the two goals decided the match”.

 

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Real Madrid won their 20th match in a row with a 4-1 win over Almeria – although the scoreline doesn’t suggest how far the hosts pushed the Champions League holders.

Isco and Gareth Bale has scored in the first half, along with Verza for the hosts to give Los Blancos a 2-1 lead at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos. Verza then had the chance to equalise from the spot, but Iker Casilas saved it before Cristiano Ronaldo added two goals late on to add some gloss.

With the Club World Cup on their minds, Real can be forgiven for not being at the best. They initially struggled to assert themselves in the game, before Toni Kroos fired in an effort that bounced back off the bar via a deflection.

Ronaldo and Karim Benzema both showed glimpses of what they could do with some good chnces before the visitors finally took the lead on the 34th minute. The French striker crossed from the right hand side and picked out Isco. The playmaker dummied an effort and cut inside Michel before sending his effort past Ruben in goal.

The host’s didn’t let their heads drop though and we level just five minutes later. Verza had already caused the defence problems with his movement, but this time he sent in a 30-yard rocket that flew past Casillas in goal.

The flurry of goals at the end of the first half didn’t stop there, and three minutes fore the break the visitors were ahead once more. Gareth Bale rose highest to meet Toni Kroos’ cross and planted a powerful header in the bottom corner.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men could have put themselves out of sight in the second half, with Ronaldo and Bale being particularly wasteful. The hosts were then awarded a penalty when Marcelo hauled down Edgar Mendez in the area. Verza hit a good effort to the left but Casillas pulled off a magnificent save.

Ronaldo, who had not enjoyed his best night, suddenly spring into life in the final 10 minutes. He grabbed his first in the 81st minute, prodding into an empty net after a neat one-two with Benzema. In the final minute of normal time he drilled in his second after meeting a Dani Carvajal cross. It was his 25th league goal in just 15 games.

Madrid now turn their attention to the Club World Cup in Morocco and will attempt to win their fourth trophy of the calendar year.

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Lucas Silva has said he’s dreaming of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo as he closes in on a move to Real Madrid.

The Cruziero midfielder has been closely linked with a switch to the Santiago Bernabeu, and recent injuries to Luka Modric and James Rodriguez could see the 21-year-old arrive in the Spanish capital next month should Carlo Ancelotti decide to bolster his squad.

Ahead of a potential move, Silva told Madrid sports paper AS that he’s been dreaming of playing alongside the Madrid players, and Cristiano Ronaldo in particular.

“I was happy with the news [of possibly joining Madrid] but also very surprised,” he admitted.

“It’s a sign that my work is valued not only here in Brazil but also abroad. If it really happened, because at the moment it’s just speculation, it would be important for my family because they’re from Goias, a small town where I started my career.

“It would be the realisation of my dreams and comfort for my family. Perhaps it’s already time to return them the favour. Since my childhood I’ve been following Cristiano’s matches from Manchester and now much more at Real Madrid.

“I never expected that one day [I’d possibly play alongside him], it would be a dream. I imagined many things as a little boy, but I didn’t expect things were going to happen so fast. All the dreams and goals that I have are being realised thanks to God.”

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