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Diego Lopez

Former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is eying a move for Los Blancos goalkeeper Diego Lopez, according to reports.

Marca and AS both say the 10-time Champions League winners have decided to dispense of Lopez’ services and will keep Iker Casillas at the Santiago Bernabeu. One of the two goal keepers will leave the club this summer as room is made available in the squad for Levante and Costa Rica shot stopper Keylor Navas.

Mourinho, who admitted he failed in a bid to convince Luka Modric to join his project in west London earlier this week, is believed to be keen to be reunited with Lopez, who he signed for Real in the winter of 2013.

Chelsea already have two excellent goalkeepers on their books in Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois, but the former is thought to be assessing his options after a decade at the club and could be allowed to leave. PSG and Monaco are interested in signing the Czech international, reports suggest.

Lopez was installed as the number one at Madrid when Mourinho was in charge, and that didn’t change after Carlo Ancelotti arrived. He has been largely used in La Liga while Casillas has had to be content with featuring in the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

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Madrid-based sports newspaper As claims today that Real Madrid are going to watch closely Monaco’s matches against Valencia and Arsenal -today and tomorrow- hoping to find out whether Radamel Falcao has fully recovered from his knee injury.

The Colombian international will make his return after a six-month absence, and Los Blancos will keep an eye on his state of shape, in order to make a decision about a possible transfer.

“Watching for Falcao,” As titles. “His performances against Valencia and Arsenal will show how his knee is evolving,” they add.

Meanwhile, Marca’s main focus is on Los Merengues third pre-season match, against Manchester United. “Madness,” they title. “108.000 spectators will fill the stadium,” they explain.

The most sold Spanish newspaper points out “the match between the two giants with more fans in America will break records, having the highest audience in the US history.”

Marca also emphasizes Carlo Ancelotti’s words regarding the goalkeeping debate: “I will give Casillas minutes of play today because he will start in the Supercup.”

While most of the squad are still in the US, other players have arrived to Madrid after their holidays to start training. “James arrived and went to Valdebebas,” As highlights.

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PSG forward Edison Cavani has said Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria would be a welcome addition at the club.

The Argentina international has been strongly linked with a move to Paris since the arrivals of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez at the Santiago Bernabeu. And last week it was claimed in the Spanish press that the two sides were close to agreeing a 60 million euro deal.

Manchester United have also expressed their interest in signing the 26-year-old, who played a key part in Los Blancos’ success in both the Champions League and Copa del Rey last season.

Speaking to French sports paper L’Equipe, Cavani, who was a one-time target for Madrid, said: “We are always looking to add new elements to the team.  [Di Maria] has a lot of quality, is a fantastic player and he would be welcome in Paris.”

Di Maria arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu from Benfica in 2010 in a 30 million euro deal. In his time in the Spanish capital he has made 189 appearances and scored 36 goals. The winger has also assisted 87 goals for his team mates.

Although Carlo Ancelotti is believed to be keen to keep hold of the star, the Real directors deem him to be surplus to requirements and want to recoup some of their transfer outlays this summer.

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Former Spain midfielder Gaizka Mendieta has said Sergio Ramos would have been in contention for the Ballon d’Or had it not been for a disastrous World Cup.

The Real Madrid man was in imperious form for his club last season, and scored two crucial goals in the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. He went one better and netted the last-gasp equaliser in the final too, giving him legendary status among Madridistas.

But at the World Cup with his country, Ramos, along with most of the Spanish squad, had a horror show. La Roja were beaten 5-1 in their opening fixture against Holland and lost 2-0 to Chile in their second group match that ensured an early exit for the 2010 winners.

And Mendieta, who won 40 caps for his country as a player, said Ramos would have been in with a shout of winning the Ballon d’Or had it not been for events in Brazil.

Speaking to goal.com, he stated: “If it wasn’t for the disappointment of the World Cup, he could have been a candidate. We saw that Cannavaro won the Golden Ball so why not Ramos this time? He played well and scored important goals, but the World Cup changed the perspective of the player he really is.

And he continued: “He is one of the best centre-backs in the world. He is a leader for Real Madrid and the Spain team.”

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Reports in the Spanish press suggest Premier League giants Arsenal are keen on Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa.

The Gunners are keen to add to their defensive options with the future of club captain Thomas Vermaelen shrouded in doubt. The Belgian has lost his place to Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertersacker in the side and is thought to be considered his options.

The FA Cup winners have already signed Matieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers this summer, but Marca and AS say boss Arsene Wenger wants to sign Arbeloa as experienced cover to play either at right back or in the centre of defence.

World Cup winner Arbeloa is versatile and can play in both positions, and also has the added advantage of knowing the Premier League already having played for two and a half seasons at Liverpool before his switch to Madrid.

The 31-year-old suffered an injury hit campaign last season and lost his place in the side to Daniel Carvajal. Both the Madrid-based papers say the Spain international would be open to a move to the Emirates as it would present a last big money switch in his career.

The defender’s contract at the Santiago Bernabeu runs until 2016 and there are no plans to extend that at the moment.

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There is still no news over the signing of Keylor Navas, but the papers had always claimed the Costa Rican would only be signed if one of Iker Casillas or Diego Lopez was moved on from the club.

While there was much talk of Casillas leaving the club he has spent 15 years at in the first team squad for a move to FA Cup winners Arsenal, it appears in the end that the World Cup winner will stay. Both Marca and AS are claiming today that the club has decided to sell Diego Lopez – who has no shortage of admirers himself. Monaco, Napoli and even Chelsea could be interested, the papers claim.

Elsewhere, Marca and El Mundo say Real Madrid legend Raul could return to the club as a sporting director this season. Los Blancos have always been hopeful he would return to the club one day, but according to reports, Florentino Perez wants to speed up the process and ensure his return sooner rather than later.

Finally, AS has been looking at the USA tour in terms of profits. As well as being a useful exercise to get the players ready for the new season, the tour is also an excellent marketing opportunity, and Los Blancos have earned closed to nine million euros from it so far.

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Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez showed his desire of seeing countryman and former Monaco team-mate Radamel Falcao joining him at Real Madrid.

“I’m sure Falcao can play at Real, but I don’t get to decide whether he’ll come or not. That’s the president’s call. He’s got quality and a winning mentality, and that’s what Madrid wants. I wish he can come,” the 23-year-old said in an interview with Radio Caracol.

Asked about the high competency for a spot in Los Blancos starting eleven, James stated he can play “in the right wing, left wing, as a playmaker or as centre midfielder, where Ancelotti wants me to.”

“First I need to earn a spot among these world-class players, and for me it will be a pleasure to fight with them for a place in the line-up. I’ve always trained a lot. When a training session ends, I always stay. When you play, that makes a difference. I’ve done this since I was 11 years old and I’m not going to change,” he added.

“Since I remember, I always wanted to be the number one: provide assists, score goals,… However, I arrive to Madrid hoping to be just one more, although there are many stars. I just want to help the team,” James confessed.

Asked about the negotiations for his signing, James explained Real had been following him since his years at Porto. “When I played a great World Cup, they wanted to sign me. During the World Cup there were some talks, but I was quiet,” he told Radio Caracol.

James revealed he’s been a Real Madrid fan since his childhood: “I follow Real Madrid since the era of the Galacticos, with Zidane, Beckham, Ronaldo,… I follow them since I was a kid, and I used to adore Zidane; seeing him play made feel special feelings.”

* Don’t miss any Real Madrid news. Follow us on Twitter: @realmadridnewsw

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Paris Saint-Germain are close to signing Real Madrid’s midfielder Angel di Maria, but the details of the transfer are not clear yet.

Spanish press reported the Ligue 1 side had agreed a 80-million-euros move with Los Blancos, but PSG could be forbiden to spend that amount following UEFA’s sanction on the French club for violating the financial fair play rules last season.

Thus, the French champions are looking at other options for bringing the Argentinian to Paris, and that would include introducing Marco Verratti in the deal according to French website Le10Sports.

The Italian has long been a desire of Carlo Ancelotti, who asked Florentino Perez to sign him when he first arrived to Madrid. Last summer, Verratti’s high price was a problem for him to move to the Spanish capital, but with PSG desperate to sign Di Maria, things could be easier this time.

PSG have been punished by UEFA with a 60-million-euros fine, a limit of a 21-man squad for the next Champions League season and certain restrictions in the transfers they can make this summer.

Di Maria, who will get back to training with Real Madrid on August 5th if the clubs haven’t yet reached a deal, has already approved the move to Paris. However, sources have told he is also in contacts with Manchester United should UEFA ban his transfer to PSG.

* Get all the latest Real Madrid news on our Twitter acccount.

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Real Madrid right-back Alvaro Arbeloa has said fitness work is more important than results in pre-season and the whole squad is working hard to get into shape ahead of the new campaign.

Los Blancos lost 1-0 to Roma on Tuesday night in Dallas in the International Champions Cup, their second defeat in the USA after missing out on penalties to Inter Milan at the weekend.

But despite being knocked out of the tournament with a game left – they play Manchester United in Ann Arbor next – Arbeloa said the most important aspect of the trop to the US was for the players to prepare well for the challenges that lie ahead.

Speaking about the loss, the Spain international stated: “The side gave their all and the youngsters were good. The important thing is to play some minutes and improve. We have to think about Saturday’s game. They are days to get ready and to get into form and a rhythm in order to improve. After the World Cup there’s been a lot of absentees, but the players are returning. We are happy and working well. It is a good pre-season despite the results”.

And he continued: “We are missing important players, we have to carry on working and adapting, and we will improve as we look to find our best version. We have spent a while doing this and we know at the start it’s always difficult.”

Despite neither of the two most recent signings playing yet, Arbeloa expressed his delight at having James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos on board.

“They’re two players known all over the world, two great signings who will improve the side in positions where we also have great players, because we have a very competitive squad,” he commented.

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Real Madrid still have one more match to play in the International Champions Cup in the USA – a glamour tie with Manchester United in Michigan that is expected to draw 109,000 spectators.

But Los Blancos have nothing to play as they can no longer qualify for the final having been beaten on penalties by Inter Milan and losing 1-0 to Roma.

Madrid-based daily Marca says boss Carlo Ancelotti has his attention now on the European Super Cup which takes place in Cardiff on August 12. The Champions League holders come up against Europa League winners Sevilla in what is the first of six pieces of silverware Los Blancos will play for this year.

The paper says he has counted no one out of the squad yet for that game – even Cristiano Ronaldo who is still working his way back to fitness after a number of injury issues at the end of last season. Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez will also have had little more than a week to get up to speed following their arrivals at the club and return to training.

Elsewhere, AS has quotes from James saying he would like Radamel Falcao to join him at the Santiago Bernabeu. The pair played to together at Monaco are are international team mates, and James says Falcao’s signing would be a great thing for Los Blancos.

That opinion seems to be backed up by Madridistas in general, as a poll by AS showed 70% of readers would like to see the former Atletico de Madrid forward sign for the club.

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