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Real Madrid are close to agreeing a deal with Fly Emirates for the naming rights of the Santiago Bernabeu, it is believed.

The airline is already one of Los Blanco’s biggest sponsors and have their logo printed on the official Real Madrid shirts.

According to Madrid-based daily AS, Emirates and the club are thought to close to agreeing a deal for the stadium rights, which would see the iconic 80,000 seater stadium named the Fly Emirates Santiago Bernabeu, Bernabeu Fly Emirates or Bernabeu Fly Emirates.

The club is keen on raising money from the stadium naming rights to make improvements to the Santiago Bernabeu and also push down the club’s debt, which currently sits at around the 600 million euro mark.

Florentino Perez, the club president, is confident Los Bancos can secure a deal of between 400 and 500 million euros, the newspaper stated. A deal to sell the naming rights to the ground, which is located in the heart of the Spanish capital, would have to get the approval of the General Assembly.

Los Blancos are already looking at carrying out major renovation work to the ground that would see it become one of the most modern grounds in the world and include facilities such as a shopping centre and hotel.

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said his biggest regret in the transfer market has been missing out on Cristiano Ronaldo before he became a global superstar.

The Frenchman was close to signing the forward when Ronaldo was just 18 years old and playing for Sporting Lisbon.

But Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson nipped in at the last minute to steal Ronaldo from under Wenger’s nose and the Portugal forward went to Old Trafford in a 15 million euro deal. He played for the Red Devils between 2003 and 2009 before he made his move to the Spanish capital to play for Real Madrid.

Speaking at a question and answer session this week with one of Arsenal’s sponsors, Wenger was asked what his biggest regret was in the transfer market.

And he said: “My biggest regret: I was so close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo. And not only did I not get him, but he signed for Manchester United. That, of course, still hurts today.”

Ronaldo went on to help United to numerous titles including the Premier League and Champions League. Since arriving at Madrid he has helped Los Blancos to success in La Liga and played a crucial role in the club’s 10th European Cup win last season – the much coveted Decima.

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Real Madrid got back into the winner’s circle in La Liga with a thrilling goal-fest at Riazor, against a weak Deportivo La Coruna.

A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick, a Gareth Bale brace, one from James Rodrigez, and another brace from Chicharito Hernandez gave Los Blancos their second victory in the Spanish league, after having suffered two consecutive losses against Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid.

The European champions took the lead as Ronaldo leapt highest to meet a cross from Alvaro Arbeloa and headed home from the centre of the box into the top left corner.

Five minutes later, Rodriguez collected the ball 25 metres out after some neat build up play and rifled an unstoppable left-footed shot into the top right corner.

A mistake made by German Lux allowed Los Merengues to extend their lead. The goalkeeper rushed out of his box to try and tackle Benzema, but the loose ball ended up at the feet of Ronaldo, who sent it home into the empty net.

Deportivo grabbed themselves a slender lifeline as Haris Medunjanin made it 1-3 in a penalty shoot, and that made Real suffer during the first minutes of the second half.

However, Gareth Bale sealed the victory with two identical goals, nipping in behind the back-four and lashing a quick-fire shot in off the post.

Ronaldo got his hat-trick after receiving a pass from James and firing a powerful strike past Lux. Toche gave Deportivo a consolation goal with five minutes to go, but Chicharito had time to score another two: first with a fantastic volley from 25 metres and another one with a shot that deflected off a defender.

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Deportivo Real Madrid match preview

Real Madrid take on Deportivo in the fourth date of La Liga hoping to end a run of two defeats.

Los Blancos went down 4-2 to Real Sociedad and lost again in the Madrid derby against Atletico. They now trail arch-rivals Barcelona by six points in the bottom half of the table.

The poor performances of the team have lead to many fans jeering captain Iker Casillas, who has been blamed for the losses.

However, the 5-1 victory over Basel in the Champions League helped stop the rot, and now Carlo Ancelotti men seek to recover in La Liga.

The Italian manager will miss Sami Khedira, who is currently out injured with a left hamstring problem. Thus, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are expected to feature in midfield. On the other hand, Ancelotti will welcome back Daniel Carvajal, who could start at right-back.

Deportivo will miss Insua, Lucas Perez and Salomao as they seek to extend their promising start to La Liga. It won’t be easy for the Galicians, who have only savaged one point in the last four Real Madrid visits to La Coruna.

Possible line-ups:

Deportivo: Lux; Laure, Lopo, Sidnei, Luisinho; Juanfran, Medunjanin, Bergantiños, Dominguez, Cuenca; Postiga.

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

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Real Madrid haven’t had a good start to their La Liga season, but they’ll have a chance to redirect their path next Saturday as they visit a stadium that has been favourable for them in the last years: Riazor.

Traveling to La Coruna used to be a nightmare for Los Blancos. In fact, the Madridistas had a terrible run of 18 years without beating Deportivo in their stadium in La Liga.

However, since Real broke that run in 2010 with a 1-3 victory, they haven’t lost again at Riazor. That was the season when many of the current stars of the team arrived to the Spanish capital, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Statistics show Los Merengues have well adapted to play at La Coruna. Nevertheless, they have taken points from Deportivo’s stadium in their last four visits –three in La Liga and one in the Teresa Herrera Trophy– earning three victories and one draw.

A key for that improvement when playing at Riazor has been the good defensive performances. Los Blancos have only conceded two goals in their last four games there. Thus, their visit to Deportivo on Saturday seems like a great chance for Real to take off in La Liga.

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Real Madrid visit Deportivo La Coruna this afternoon in a match that is being described in the Spanish press as a ‘final’ for Los Blancos.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have made a poor start to the La Liga campaign, losing two of their first three matches – the most damaging one being last weekend at home to city rivals Atletico de Madrid.

With Barcelona winning their first three games, there is little room now for Los Blancos to slip up again in the league, even at this very early stage. Marca goes with the headline “A final in September” to highlight the importance of the game in northern Spain.

The paper appears confident Los Blancos can pick up the three points against the newly promoted side, and takes a look as the attacking options available to Ancelotti. Last season the Bale, Benzema and Cristiano combination was nicknamed the BBC. Now, it says there’s the BBC plus one, with the arrival of James Rodriguez. Between them, the quartet have already scored 9 goals this season – with all four on the scoresheet in midweek against Basel.

Elsewhere, AS looks at the latest financial figures announced by the club – and it’s headline in the online edition is one of concern about the 602 million euro debt – an increase of 11% compared to the previous 12 months.

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Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos supported his team-mate Iker Casillas, who has been jeered at by the Santiago Bernabeu fans following Los Blancos recent losses in La Liga against Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad.

The keeper, who was criticized by many after Real decided to get rid of Diego Lopez instead of him in the last transfer market, has been blamed for Los Merengues bad run, as he has conceded six goals from the last seven shots he has received.

Despite Madrid’s 5-1 Champions League victory over Basilea, boos were also heard at the Santiago Bernabeu when Casillas got into play.

Asked about the whistles after the game, Ramos defended his team-mate: “I will not get into the goalkeeper’s debate. Here, we’re all exposed to public criticism. The fans judge and value, and we have to respect it. But as a Madridista, I would be unable to jeer at Iker, for his career, his feeling of identity, his class and for what he has represented.”

“It has to be respected, but I wouldn’t do it. It’s obvious that when you hear this, it’s not pleasant, but we all have been whistled at the Bernabeu, especially the greatest players. They demand more of them because they know they can give a little more,” Ramos added.

The 28-year-old admitted “Iker is not a robot and the whistles affect him”. However, he is sure the keeper “can live with it, he knows that he can’t please everybody.”

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Former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has said he and Cristiano Ronaldo have no relationship now but he remembers fondly the success they enjoyed at Los Blancos.

The 29-year-old forward played a crucial role in the club’s success under Mourinho, with his goalscoring exploits helping the side to win La Liga along with the Copa del Rey and Spanish Supercopa.

But in Mourinho’s last season in charge in the Spanish capital there was plenty of talk in the press that the pair had fallen out – indeed the now Chelsea boss was rumoured to have fallen out with much of his own playing squad as well as getting under the skin of opposition and officials.

In an interview with TV1, Mourinho said the pair don’t talk or socialise anymore, but he looks back well on their time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“The relationship between Ronaldo and myself is non-existent,” Mourinho said.

And he added: “You would not find us hanging around together. The relationship does not exist, but the remembrance of his impact does. I have to remind myself that he is a goal machine who helped me become a Liga champion, win the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa.

“I try to keep the best memories of Cristiano Ronaldo with me and I wish him all the best in his career – especially with Portugal, but also with his club.”

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Germany boss Joachim Low says Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos will be a huge success at the club and can walk into any team in the world.

The 24-year-old central midfielder played a huge part in his country’s World Cup win in Brazil this summer, and is one of the first names on Low’s team sheets when it comes to selecting the national side.

Low, who has watched Kroos develop into a fine player over many years, is more qualified than most to talk about his compatriot’s rise and what the future holds too.

And in quotes published in football newspaper Kicker, the Geman boss said: “Kroos has matured a lot. He’s gone from being a young, talented player to being one of the indispensable members of the team.”

He also hailed Kroos’ exceptional character and revealed he never gets nervous no matter how big the occasion.  Despite his relative young age, Kroos has already won many trophies in his career including the Champions League, Bundesliga, German Cup, and European Super Cup as well as the World Cup with his country.

“He never gets nervous. If you need him, you can play him in any team from one day to the next. I have no doubt that he will triumph with Real Madrid”, he went on to say.

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Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has said he believes Cristiano Ronaldo is keen on a move back to Old Trafford at the end of this season.

The Portugal international has made no secret of his desire to one day move back to Manchester, where he is still adored by Red Devils fans, although he has always said he still feels he has an important job to do with Los Blancos for many years to come.

But reports have suggested the 29-year-old is unhappy with the sales of Angel di Maria and Xabi Alonso and feels he has achieved all he can at the club after guiding them to success in the Champions League last season.

Speaking on Sky’s Monday Night Football, ex-team mate Neville said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Ronaldo make a return to the Premier League especially as United have announced return to the main stage again following the arrivals of Falcao, di Maria, Daley Blind, Ander Herrera and Marcus Rojo.

“There was talk last summer that it was either going to be Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale and there are rumours of Cristiano not being happy in Madrid,” the 39-year-old said.

And he continued: “Obviously last year they won the Champions League, so has he achieved what he wanted to achieve in Madrid? Has he done what he set out to do? That’s question one. Does he love Manchester? Does he love United? Yes, absolutely. He has talked more and more in the last 12 to 18 months about how he misses Old Trafford.”

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