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Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueño has admitted that Los Blancos face a tough start to the season, after the revealing of the football fixture list in Spain.

Real open the season with their UEFA Super Cup contest against Europa League champions Sevilla in Cardiff, before playing the two legs of the Supercopa de España against city rivals Atletico.

Los Merengues then finally begin their league campaign against newly promoted Cordoba, before making the trip to Real Sociedad in the final weekend of August. The start to September doesn’t get any easier, as after the first international break, Real play Atletico once again in the League, for an incredible third time in the space of a month.

Butragueno said “That’s the way it is. We have to be prepared for every game and we have a very intense August: the European Super Cup, the Supercopa de España, and the start of La Liga.

“Then the players will be on international duty and then the match against Atlético de Madrid.

The first El Clasico is at the Bernabeu on the 25-26th of October, the first matchday after new Barca signing Luis Suarez’s four month ban, but Butragueño dismissed that, saying it is  “quite a way off”.

 

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After all the excitement of the signings of Toni Kross and James Rodriguez, along with the impending arrival of Keylor Navas in goal, this week we start with the likely departure of one of Los Blancos’ key players from last season – Angel di Maria.

The Argentine was close to leaving last summer, but the two most recent acquisitions mean his time is likely to be up at the Santiago Bernabeu this time round. Marca and AS go with the winger on their front page as his future is in increasing doubt.

French champions PSG are still favourites to sign the 26-year-old, although di Maria is believed to growing frustrated by how long they are taking in getting together an 80 million euro package, giving Manchester United hope they can secure his services. Marca says di Maria’s sale will be biggest in Madrid’s history. AS goes with quotes from Ancelotti saying he expects the World Cup finalist to be back in training on August 5, but how long he stays beyond that is unclear – if he is still a Madrid player at that point.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo has joined up with his team mates in the USA but will train separately as he focuses on building up the strength in his knee ahead of the new season. The Portugal international was plagued with tendinitis problems at the end of last season and doesn’t want a repeat of that this time around.

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Brazilian 18-year-old left-back Abner Felipe Souza de Almeida has signed his contract as a new Real Madrid Castilla player.

The defender, whose contract with Coritiba expired on June, arrives to Madrid on a free transfer, aiming to emulate his countryman Marcelo, who arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu at the same age and became the world’s best left-back.

Abner will join Real Madrid’s reserve team managed by Zinedine Zidane, hoping to earn some minutes of play with the first squad during the season.

“It’s a dream come true, God bless me in this new stage of my life and bless my new club, Real Madrid,” the footballer published on Instagram.

However, there’s still a problem to sort for Abner to join Castilla. The team got relegated to the Spanish third division, where signing non-EU players is not allowed. Castilla still have a chance to stay in the second division if the clubs with economic problems are sanctioned, but otherwise they would need to find another solution.

Abner is defined by many as the new Roberto Carlos. He made 26 appearances for Coritiba last season. With Brazil Under-17, he made a great impresion in last year’s World Cup, catching the attention of several European clubs, such as Roma.

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Real Madrid are edging closer to a deal with AS Monaco for former Atletico de Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, according to reports in Spain.

A number of media outlets have claimed Los Blancos will secure the 26-year-old on an initial season-long loan and pay around 10 million euros, with the option of paying an additional 25 million euros next summer should they decide to make the deal permanent.

Despite having secured the signings of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez to boost the squad already, Los Blancos are on the lookout for a forward as Karim Benzema is the only recognised number nine at the club.

Falcao has spent a season in France since his switch from Los Rojiblancos but injured his cruciate ligament in a cup game meaning he missed a large chunk of the campaign.  He also missed playing for Colombia at the World Cup this summer to focus on being fully fit again for the start of the new season.

Talk of Falcao’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu has been ongoing for some time although nothing had suggested any formal talks were taking place between the two clubs. The striker is represented by Jorge Mendes, who has close links with Florentino Perez, and already has a number of his clients at the club including Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel di Maria, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said he was pleased with his players efforts in their opening pre-season match against Inter Milan.

Made up of a lot of players from Real Madrid Castilla, Los Blancos drew 1-1 with the Italian side but went down 3-2 on penalties. Gareth Bale gave the 10-time European champions the lead with a bullet of a shot from 30 yards after just 11 minutes but Inter equalised through a 68th minute penalty.

Speaking at his press conference after the game, Ancelotti said he was pleased with the effort put in by his younger players. He added that he was also impressed with the physical level of the team given that it was their first game.

“I am satisfied with the younger players who played a great game.  They were focused, with character.  In this sense, the match went well.  The players showed good physical condition.  Some of the younger players showed a lot of personality.  That’s good.  We played with a very good style.  A fresh style to start the season.  During the first 45 minutes, we were very good in the attack,” he stated.

Ancelotti also spoke about the form and fitness of Gareth Bale. Last season, the Welshman didn’t have a pre-season as he was injured prior to his move to the Santiago Bernabeu. This summer is different, with the 24-year-old looking stronger and fitter after the summer break.

“He can enjoy this start to the pre-season, but now come the official matches.  He is doing well.  It will be a different campaign for him, especially in the beginning.  He had a good holiday, 40 days and is relaxed,” Ancelotto stated.

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Real Madrid lost 3-2 on penalties against Inter Milan in their opening pre-season match after the two teams had played out a 1-1 draw at the California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

Los Blancos, taking to the field for the first time since the Champions League final in May, were looking to get off to a good start in the International Challenge Cup. But with a host of first team players missing, the experimental side was made up on many of the Real Madrid Castilla players who were invited on tour, including de Tomas, Diego Llorente, Lucas Vazquez and Alvaro Medran.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team started the brighter of the two and in the 11th minute of the game Gareth Bale gave the 10-time Champions League winners the lead with another goal to add to his collection of wonder goals.

The Welshman picked up the ball and Inter failed to close him down properly, allowing him the chance to send an left-footed rocket into the back of the net from 30 yards. It could well be hard to score a better goal than that all season.

Both teams looked rusty after the holidays and chances were at a premium. In the second half, the Italians grew into the game, and were rewarded for their hard work when they were awarded a penalty in the 68th minute. New boy Nemanja Vidic was adjudged to have been brought down by Ruben Sobrino. Mauro Icardi stepped up and converted the spot kick.

Both teams had chances to snatch a winner in the final 10 minutes, with Omar Mascarell going close for Los Blancos. But the match ended as a draw, and the Italians held their nerve better in the shoot-out (there was no extra-time).

When Mascarell sent his spot kick over the bar with the teams level at 2-2, Icardi had the chance to win the points for his side, and duly did just that, converting his second penalty of the game.

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James Rodriguez has been unveiled as a new Real Madrid player, becoming one of La Liga’s new stars. The Colombian seemed predestined to play in Spain sooner or later, since he was already close to signing for Espanyol back in 2010.

The Catalan club received reports that year of a young talented 18-year-old Colombian with a bright future who played for Banfield in the Argentinian league. That player was James Rodriguez, who caught the attention of Espanyol’s scouts when they saw him play live.

“James was not a regular starter at Banfield, but you could see he was a player with great quality and a bright future. That’s the profile Espanyol has to look for. When we spoke to Mauricio Pochettino, he saw two or three games and immediately gave the OK. He had an excellent technique. We wanted to make an important offer for him. Daniel Sanchez Llibre, the president back then, tried to make a bid,” Espanyol’s former sports director Ramon Planes recently explained in an interview with Esports en Xarxa.

However, a problem in the payment method prevented the transfer from becoming real: “He was very close to signing for Espanyol. Negotiation was in the final step. There was a economic agreement between the clubs and we had spoken several times with James. He was willing to come to Espanyol and La Liga. But there was a problem with the bank endorsements for the payment and a few days later he signed for Porto.”

The press reported back then that Espanyol, a club that didn’t have much economic strength, offered 2.5 million euros for 50% of the player’s rights. Banfield rejected that offer, but the Catalans, knowing James’ potential, increased the bid to 5.5 million for 100% of the rights.

Banfield accepted that proposal, but as Planes has already stated, there was still a disagreement over how to pay the money. The Argentinean club wanted the money in one payment whereas Espanyol were keen to pay over a period of time in various installments. While the La Liga club looked at options to finance the deal, Banfield released a story to the press saying an agreement was almost in place.

That prompted Benfica and Porto to try their luck and move for the Colombian and both clubs made offers significantly more than the one on the table from Espanyol. In the end, Jame Rodriguez ended up at Porto, the club that would be the stepping stone for his move to Monaco, who in turn were to be the stepping stone for his switch to Real Madrid.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said the Champions League win last season signaled the start of a new era for the club and he wants to see the team push on this year.

Los Blancos ended their 12-year wait for La Decima – the 10th Champions League win. They also secured the Copa del Rey title in April, seeing off Barcelona in Valencia, with Gareth Bale scoring a sensational solo goal.

Speaking at the UCLA campus in the USA, where the club is currently on a two-week tour, Ancelotti told reporters the Decima was the launchpad for more success.

“The 10th Champions League was very important for us. I think La Decima was the beginning of an era. We have the desire to continue winning titles, more competitions, and the squad is competitive. We’re all raring to go,” he said.

Ancelotti also expressed his delight at the recent signings of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez, saying the club moved quickly in the transfer market to make an already strong squad even more competitive.

He stated: “This year we have the advantage that we have very important work already done. There are now more signings and I think we can start better. I’m very optimistic.”

Ancelotti added: “The club is doing a good job; we have signed some very important players who will improve the team a lot; we have a very competitive group.”

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Real Madrid return to action tonight as they take on Inter Milan in the International Champions Cup in California. Los Blancos are still missing some players who were involved in the World Cup, so boss Carlo Ancelotti will have a mix of experience and youth in the side.

The Madrid-based papers are focusing on transfer talk again this morning though, and this time it’s the search for a number nine. Despite having a wealth of attacking options, only Karim Benzema can really play the number nine role, and the club just sold Alvaro Morata. Jese Rodriguez is expected to be out injured until around November and will take time to get up to match speed again,

So according to Marca and AS, Real are looking at two names – Radamel Falcao and Romelu Lukaku. Falcao already knows La Liga well thanks to his time with Atletico de Madrid and is believed to be keen on a return to the Spanish capital. Meanwhile, Lukaku’s future at Chelsea looks all but over after Jose Mourinho, whose last trophy of any sort was the Spanish Super Copa two years ago, opted to take 36-year-old Didier Drogba back to Stamford Bridge.

Finally, ex-Los Blancos player David Beckham was at UCLA to watch his former team train yesterday. When asked about the signing of James Rodriguez, he said it was brilliant for the club and the Colombian showed what a talent he is at the World Cup.

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Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski has said international team mate Sami Khedira would love life at the north London giants.

The Real Madrid man has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium throughout the summer, and the arrivals of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez at the Santiago Bernabeu and heightened talk of an exit.

Some reports in Spain last week claimed a fee had already been agreed between the two clubs, with Khedira set to discuss personal terms with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who led the club to yet another FA Cup success last season. But talk of an imminent move has died down this week, with Arsenal away in New York and Khedira on holiday in Indonesia.

That hasn’t stopped Podolski discussing a potential switch for Khedira though. The World Cup winner said the midfielder would enjoy being surrounded by German friends including former Los Blancos player Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker.

Speaking to Bild, Podolski stated: “I don’t have to try to convince Khedira to join Arsenal.

“Sami knows how much fun he could have with me, Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker at Arsenal. We had a great time together at the World Cup and I would like it very much if he comes to London.”

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