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Argentinian midfielder Lucas Biglia has been linked with a move to Real Madrid. The player’s agent Enzo Montepaone has claimed Los Blancos have shown an interest in signing the 28-year-old.

“Real Madrid? Yes, it’s true that we have talk with them, we’ll see what happens,” Montepaone said in an interview with Italian website Lalaziosiamonoi.it.

The Lazio man has attracted the interest of various European clubs after his great performance in Brazil’s World Cup with Argentina. Biglia started as a substituted, but ended up becoming a guaranteed starter and having a crucial role for Argentina to become the runners-up.

Biblia moved to Lazio last season, after seven succesful years at Anderlecht. He made 30 appearances for the Roma side, scoring two goals.

With Sami Khedira set to leave the club this summer, Los Blancos might be looking for a defensive midfielder, and Biglia could be a good fit for Carlo Ancelotti’s style.

Los Merengues have reinforced their midfield this summer with the signings of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez, but losing Khedira would leave them with only two men for that crucial role: Xabi Alonso, who will turn 33 this year, and Asier Illarramendi, who hasn’t proved to be ready for the job yet.

Thus, Carlo Ancelotti has reportedly requested to bring a man who can give balance to the team. Wolfsburg’s Luiz Gustavo and Biglia are the two main candidates for now.

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Italy and Juventus legend Alessandro del Piero has hailed Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti as the best manager of all time.

Ancelotti guided his team to the Champions League title in his first attempt in the Spanish capital, ending the 12-year wait for the Decima, the club’s 10th European Cup crown. He also lifted the Copa del Rey title as Los Blancos saw off Barcelona in a thrilling final in Valencia in April.  The 55-year-old has also lifted league title in Italy, England and France among a host of other trophies.

Del Piero worked with Ancelotti when the pair were at Juventus together at the turn of the century, and told AS that Real Madrid are in safe hands as long as he is at the helm.

The striker, who recently ended a stint playing in Australia, attended the training base in the US where Real Madrid are preparing for the new season and met up with his old boss.

He told AS:  “I’ve come here to say hello to Carlo Ancelotti – he is the best Coach of all time and I am delighted for him that he won La Décima with Madrid. That was a special moment for him and for Real Madrid. I’ve played Real Madrid many times and it’s always a pleasure to play in the capital and against such an incredible club.”

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Real Madrid lost their second pre-season tour game last night against Roma, meaning they can not qualify for the final of the International Champions Cup.

Veteran forward Francesco Totti netted a fine goal just before the hour mark in a game in which Carlo Ancelotti’s side were made to regret missing a host of chances – particularly in the first period at the Cotton Bowl in Texas.

Things threatened to boil over between the two sides before a ball had even been kicked when former Barcelona man Seydou Keita refused to acknowledge Pepe and threw a water bottle at him. Some of Real’s more experienced players as Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas has to play the role of peacemakers.

The 10-time European Cup winners settled into the game quickest though with Gareth Bale causing all sorts of problems down the left hand side. Indeed, it was the Welshman who had the best chance of the first half for Los Blancos. Receiving a ball from Lucas Vazquez the 24-year-old sent his effort just wide under heavy pressure from the Italian defence.

Luka Modric, making his first appearance for the side since returning to pre-season training, was pivotal in midfield, finding his team mates with his range of passing. But at the break Los Blancos had failed to take advantage of their possession and chances.

The would come to regret that 13 minutes after the break when 38-year-old Totti netted the winner. He dummied a pass that found Alessandro Florenzi’s run down the right before continuing into the area to collect the ball and finish off calmly from near the penalty spot.

A host of substitutions ruined the flow of the game and Roma were largely untroubled as they closed out the win.

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Real Madrid lost 1-0 to Roma overnight in Dallas meaning their chances of qualifying for the final of the International Champions Cup have been ended. Los Blancos will take on Manchester United in Ann Arbor later this week knowing that they will have no more participation after that. We’ll bring you more on that Roma game later.

For now, the papers are still looking at the transfer of Keylor Navas, and say his presentation could take place as early as today. Everything is in place for the deal now to be announced, and the platform around the President’s Box at the Santiago Bernabeu is still standing, ready for Navas to be presented to the fans.

Until that deal is announced, the papers are filling pages with other material. And AS held a poll among its readers to select what the fans considers to be the best starting 11 for Real Madrid next season.

Despite getting much stick even from fans, Iker Casillas should be the number one according to the results. Indeed the contest between the two goalkeepers wasn’t even close, with the club captain receiving 51,384 votes and Diego Lopez polling 7,733.

The defence should be made up of Daniel Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, while the midfield trio should be Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and James Rodriguez, the fans said. Unsurprisingly, the front three should remain unchanged from last season – Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has admitted he failed to convince Luka Modric to join him at Chelsea.

The Croatian midfielder signed for Los Blancos in 2012 from Tottenham and worked with Mourinho for a year before the manager left for a return to Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese boss spent three years in total at the Santiago Bernabeu where he fell short in his main mission to win the Champions League, but did win La Liga and Copa del Rey.

And speaking to Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti, Mourinho, who is approaching two years without lifting a trophy of any kind since he guided Madrid to success in the Spanish Supercopa in 2012, revealed he had phoned Modric about a potential switch back to London.

But he admitted he had failed to convince the 28-year-old of the project and the midfielder would prefer to stay in the Spanish capital.

“I called Modric only privately but he doesn’t want [to join] Chelsea,” Mourinho said. And he continued: “You know I really appreciate Luka Modric and his qualities. But he stays in Real Madrid.”

Modric played a key role in midfield for Los Blancos last season, making 49 appearances as the club won the Champions League and Copa del Rey.

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Real Madrid defender Pepe has hailed the signing of Colombian playmaker James Rodriguez.

The 23-year-old joined Los Blancos last week from Monaco in a 80 million euro deal, putting pen-to-paper- on a six-year deal in the Spanish capital. The left-footed player had a superb World Cup in Brazil in June and early July, scoring six goals in five games, including goal of the tournament – a brilliant long range effort against Uruguay in the second round.

Speaking to Marca, Portugal defender Pepe said he was delighted to see James join the 10-time European Cup winners. And he admitted he had known about the player for a long time having watched him play at Porto.

“He’s a very talented player,” the defender stated. And he continued:  “I saw him when he played at Porto and he has a very good left foot. It’s amazing that Madrid have signed such a great player.”

The 31-year-old also spoke about his club and international team mate Cristiano Ronaldo, and said he will be back to fitness ahead of the new campaign. The 29-year-old played through the pain at times last season as he helped Los Blancos to success in the Copa del Rey and Champions League. He suffered a hamstring strain and also had a long-term problem with tendinitis in his knee.

But Pepe said: “Cristiano had time to relax and unwind with his family. He’s well and I think he’ll be at his best.”

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Former Real Madrid man Kaka has insisted he was not a failure at the Santiago Bernabeu.

When fans and pundits alike look back at his time in the Spanish capital, they often conclude that the Brazilian didn’t reach the heights he did during his first stint at AC Milan, when he was crowned World Player of the Year on one occasion.

The 32-year-old has just completed loan switch to Sao Paolo from Orlando City. He signed from the MLS side from AC Milan and will return when they start the season in 2015.

Speaking to Esporte Espectacular, Kaka said he didn’t feel any regrets over his decision to join Real Madrid and considers his four years at the club a success.

He stated: “My time at Real Madrid was not a failure. I played 120 games, scored 28 goals and played an average of 30 games a season. I also won three trophies, the League, Copa del Rey and Supercopa.”

The former Brazil international also thanked former Los Blancos boss Jose Mourinho for giving him the opportunity to play for the club.

“He was a person who helped me grow, to be patient, to fight and respect the decisions of the coach,” Kaka stated. And he continued: “I learned to respect that figure, their decisions and do everything in my power to make him see that I could play.”

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Real Madrid continue their preparations for the season with their second match of the International Champions Cup tonight against Roma.

Boss Carlo Ancelotti used a number of Real Madrid Castilla players at the weekend against Inter Milan but will welcome back many more of his experienced players tonight. Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric all joined training in the middle of last week and weren’t deemed fit enough for the first match. But they will all start tonight alongside the likes of Pepe, Gareth Bale, Isco and Xabi Alonso.

In the main transfer talk of the day, AS claims Keylor Navas is getting impatient over his switch to the Santiago Bernabeu. The Levante and Costa Rica keeper has made no secret of his wish to join the 10-time European Cup winners, but the deal is being held up by the fact Diego Lopez and Casillas both still remain at the club, the paper says.

Lopez has been linked with Napoli and Monaco, while Casillas has been rumoured to be on his way to Arsenal. Until one of the pair leaves, AS says the Navas deal is on hold. The Costa Rican is keen to join up with the squad and start training as soon as possible. Other players who reached the quarter finals of the World Cup, such as Karim Benzema, Raphael Varane, and James Rodriguez are reporting back on August 1, and Navas is keen to join them.

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Daniel Carvajal

Daniel Carvajal has said he is excited for the new season and hopes the club is successful in its quest to win six trophies – but says the most important one for him is the Champions League.

The right-back was a revelation last season, particularly in the latter stages of the campaign as he stepped up to cover the injured Alvaro Arbeloa. The 22-year-old, who grew up in the Los Blancos youth teams, left to play in the Bundeliga with Bayer Leverkussen but returned after a year when Madrid activated his buy back clause.

Speaking to Marca in the USA where he is with his team mates preparing for the new campaign, Carvajal said: “It’s not going to be easy to win six titles. First, we’ll focus on the European Super Cup, and after that we’ll take it one by one. I hope we are able to defend the Champions League title.”

Carvajal was close to being in the Spanish World Cup squad and was on the list of 28 players initially but failed to make the final cut for tor the 23-man squad in Brazil. He said he knows he needs to work hard to impress his bosses at both club and country.

“It’s about hard work and nothing else. That’s what it take to be successful. That’s a value that’s drilled into you at this club. After that, you need to take every opportunity that comes your way,” he stated.

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Carlo Ancelotti recently confessed Real Madrid don’t need to sign a striker this summer despite Alvaro Morata’s exit. However, Los Blancos might still be searching for a number nine who can become the new Karim Benzema replacement.

According to British newspaper Daily Express, Florentino Perez has added Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku to his wish list. The British daily has claimed Los Merengues are preparing a 25-million-euro bid to bring the Belgian international to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Chelsea have signed Didier Drogba and Diego Costa for the striker position, leaving Lukaku with very few options of getting minutes of play. Thus, the London club are looking for a new destination for the 21-year-old.

The Belgian played on loan at Everton last season, and the Liverpool side are bidding high to bring him back. However, if Real Madrid were to negotiate, it seems very unlikely that Roberto Martinez’s side could win the fight.

With Karim Benzema being Real’s only number nine at the moment, Madrid press and fans are insisting on the need to bring another striker. Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Negredo and Divock Origi have also been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

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