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Yesterday evening saw the presentation of James Rodriguez as a new Real Madrid player.

Marca and AS both go with the Colombian on their front pages with his quote “It’s a dream come true” as the main headlines. The two papers  dissect the events from the speeches by the player himself, Florentino Perez and the Colombian ambassador, to the sheer number of fans in the stadium to greet James.

It was thought some 30,000 would turn out, but the figure appears to be closer to 45,000 fans – and most of them Colombian. In James, not only have Los Blancos signed arguably the World Cup’s outstanding performer, but also it seems the whole of Colombia. The ambassador spoke of his nation’s pride at seeing James become a Los Blancos player and assured Perez and the Real directors that Colombia is Madridista.

Next to follow Toni Kroos and James should be goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Marca and AS say a deal is close and the shot stopper could be presented later this week or early next week. The Levante president called for all parties involved to be patient as the negotiations continue, although it should reach a conclusion soon.

Meanwhile, the squad continues to train in LA ahead of their first tour game in the USA, with Gareth Bale set to fill the number 9 role in the absence of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

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Real Madrid will not risk playing Cristiano Ronaldo on any part of their USA tour, according to reports.

The squad left Madrid on Monday afternoon with 20 players and arrived in Los Angeles where they will train for the next couple of days at the UCLA campus.

Some of the players involved in the World Cup but who were knocked out at the group stage joined up with the squad ahead of the flight to the States, including the likes of Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos and Pepe.

Other players who were involved in the latter stages in Brazil will link up with the group later on after being given an extended break. This group includes Raphael Varane, Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Angel Di Maria, Sami Khedira and Karim Benzema.

But having suffered a number of injuries towards the end of the last campaign and going into the World Cup, the Los Blancos bosses have decided to leave Ronaldo out of the tour altogether so he can be as fresh as possible at the start of the La Liga campaign in August.

The 29-year-old could also miss the European Super Cup match against Sevilla in Cardiff on August 12.  While in the States, the 10-time European Cup winners will take on Inter, Roma and Manchester United between 27 July and 2 August.

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Francisco Catalan, the president of Levante, has said patience is needed in the drawn out transfer of Keylor Navas to Real Madrid.

The Costa Rica keeper is believed to be on the verge of completing a 10 million euro switch to the Santiago Bernabeu after impressing for his country at the World Cup in Brazil.

But speaking on Monday afternoon, Catalan said talks between all three parties – both clubs and the player himself – were still ongoing. And he added nothing would happen until everyone was satisfied with the terms of the deal.

“If there was complete agreement it would be public, but there isn’t. A lot of that is down to the player. A decision will be taken when both parties are clear on things,” said the club president.

Catalan went on to call for fans and the press to be patient and that whenever something is ready to be made public it will be. “We have to wait. It’s still early on. The player is looking at everything. We need to hold talks during the week. When a great club like Real Madrid is involved, everything suggests that he will go there, but we have to wait. If the deal is to go through, it has to happen under the terms that the club and the player want,” he said.

And he continued: “There are three parties involved, and two of them depend on Levante. His release clause is his release clause, and after everything that has happened in the World Cup and over the course of this year, plus the fact that we’ve said no to several offers before, during and after the World Cup, it would be illogical for us to change our position at this time.”

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Real Madrid have announced the signing of Monaco playmaker James Rodriguez on a long-term deal.

The Colombian player passed a medical examination in Madrid this morning before putting pen-to-paper on a six-year deal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He will be presented to the Real Madrid fans at the stadium at 8pm local time and give his first press conference as a Los Blancos player.

Rodriguez arrives from Monaco in a deal thought to be worth 75 million euros. He only spent one season in the principality after signing from Porto last summer, but Madrid’s interest in the player increased this summer after he put in some sensational displays at the World Cup.

The 22-year-old finished at the top scorer at the tournament with six goals in five games, including a sensational goal in the second round against Uruguay.

A statement on the Real Madrid website confirmed the signing of the attacking midfielder. It read: “Real Madrid C. F. have reached an agreement with AS Mónaco FC to buy James Rodríguez, who will join the club for the next six seasons.

“The player will be presented today, Tuesday 22 July, at 20:00 CET, in the Santiago Bernabéu’s presidential box. Following that, James Rodríguez will take his first steps on the Santiago Bernabéu’s pitch wearing the Real Madrid jersey and will then answer questions from the media outlets in attendance in the press room.”

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Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos said he joined the club because he wanted a change but only decided to sign for Los Blancos after the World Cup final.

The German signed for the 10-time European Cup winners last week in a 20 million euro deal from Bayern Munich, and told fans at his unveiling that he is the man to help the club move them onto greater success this year.

The 24-year-old told the German FA website that he received offers from the biggest clubs in the world but only considered leaving the Allianz Arena when it was clear contract talks with Pep Guariola’s side broke down.

“I wanted a change. The first time I gave it any thought was when contract talks with Bayern hit the buffers. Bayern were always my first contact and that is why I had always ruled out making contact with any other clubs,” the central midfielder said.

And he added: “When we were unable to reach an agreement and several interested clubs, including all of the biggest clubs in the world, approached me, I decided to try out something new. Winning the World Cup then tipped the scales.”

Kroos said he maintains the highest respect for everyone at Bayern Munich and all their fans, and told the German FA website that he picked Madrid because of the challenge of playing for the world’s biggest club.

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Excitement is gathering in Madrid at the prospect of James Rodriguez signing for the club. Rumours spread at the weekend that he was already in the Spanish capital having arrived on a flight from Colombia (although he actually caught another flight onto Nice).

But Marca and AS say the Colombian is back in town and will sign for Real Madrid today. No official announcement has been made by the club over the signing of the 22-year-old, who was top scorer at the World Cup this summer.

There are, however, a number of indications that something is about to happen imminently. Marca highlights the fact that the opening hours of the Real Madrid stadium tour have been changed today because on an official act taking place at the ground, while visitors who go between the hours of 10am and 3pm will have limited access.

Elsewhere, the future of Angel di Maria is still unclear. AS says PSG are the most likely side to sign him after he proved to be too expensive for Manchester United. But for the deal to happen, the French side need to sell Edison Cavani and Lavezzi.

Finally, the squad flew to the USA yesterday and arrived in Los Angeles last night ahead of the five-city tour over the next 10 days.

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Real Madrid captain and legend Iker Casillas wants the club to rip up his contract so he can move to Arsenal, according to reports in Spain.

El Confidencial claims the 32-year-old has had enough of playing second fiddle to Diego Lopez and wants regular first team football. His future at the Santiago Bernabeu has been thrown into even more doubt after reports last week suggested Los Blancos have agreed a 10 million euro deal with Levante for Costa Rican shot stopper Keylor Navas.

Casillas, who helped Spain win the World Cup in 2010, and two European Championships, in 2008 and 2012, has seen his stock fall in recent times. He was dropped by Jose Mourinho in the Portuguese boss’ last season in charge in Madrid and failed to win it back under Carlo Ancelotti. He did however feature as the starting choice in the Copa del Rey and Champions League – both competitions Real won last season.

But at the World Cup in Brazil this summer, the keeper had a nightmare, conceding five against Holland in the opening game, and putting in a less than convincing display against Chile in the second game. He didn’t feature in Spain’s final group match against Australia.

Arsenal are on the lookout for a new keeper having seen Lukasz Fabianski leave for Swansea, and despite being linked with a move for Colombia keeper David Ospina, boss Arsene Wenger could be tempted to move quickly for Casillas should Los Blancos agree to let him leave now.

Casillas rose through the youth ranks at the club and has played more than 700 times for the first team.

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Former Real Madrid player and assistant manager Aitor Karanka has said Jose Mourinho did not dive the Real Madrid squad in his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, but did his best to be successful.

The self-anointed ‘Special One’, is considered by many to have failed in his time in Spain. He has a vast budget at his disposal yet failed in in his mission to win the Champions League. Domestically, although he won the league once in his three seasons, his Los Blancos team was inferior to fierce rivals Barcelona.

During his final season in charge there were many stories about falling out with the club’s senior players, particularly Iker Casillas, who Mourinho benched mid-way through the season.

But talking to Marca, Karanka said every decision made was in the best interest of the club. And he added that the press were too critical of Mourinho and his coaching team.

“No, I don’t think Mourinho divided Madrid,” Karanka stated. “What he did was try to do the best thing at any given time. Everyone talks, for example, about the thing with Iker Casillas. Dropping him wasn’t a decision that was taken overnight. We took our time and decided that it was the best thing for the team at that moment.”

He went on to talk about the mistreatment by the press and the lack of respect given to him.

He said: “I felt mistreated by the Press during my time at Madrid. I’d been a footballer for 15 years and I’d been criticised, I’d been praised. However, a lot of the time with Madrid they weren’t criticisms, but a lack of respect.”

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Former Spain midfielder Marcos Senna has said new Real Madrid signing Toni Kroos will thrive in La Liga.

The German midfielder signed a long-term deal at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this week having agreed a 20 million euro switch from Bayern Munich. The 24-year-old arrives with a vast amount of experience already, having won the Champions League with Munich, as well as numerous domestic titles.

He also arrives in Spain as a World Cup champion, having played a key role in the German side that lifted the trophy in Brazil last weekend.

Senna, who spent 11 seasons playing at Villarreal and also played an important part in the Spanish national side, told Marca he believes Kroos has all it takes to deal with the pressure of playing at Real Madrid and becoming a success in Spain.

“Kroos is a great player. I have seen him for many years. He has great quality and I had the opportunity to play against him. He is a sure star and will triumph in Madrid,” the 38-year-old New York Cosmos player stated.

At his presentation in front of 10,000 fans earlier this week, Kroos said himself that he was confident he was the right man to lead Los Blancos to further success and is aiming to help them retain the Champions League trophy.

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The media frenzy over the signing of James Rodriguez from Monaco has gone into overdrive today after the player was spotting arriving on Sunday at Madrid Barajas airport on a flight from Colombia.

All sorts of rumours spread social media, with suggestions the player could be presented as early as today. It turned out in fact that the player was on his way to Nice and had a stopover in the Spanish capital – being the gateway between Latin America and Europe, many flights stop in Madrid being going on to other destinations.

Marca and AS are both adamant the player will be a Los Blancos player this week though and will be presented to the fans on Thursday or Friday afternoon.

The Colombian’s arrival will likely spell the end of Angel di Maria, who the papers claim is edging closer to a move to PSG. There is some talk the French side want to take the Argentine on loan for a year before making any deal permanent, but Madrid would prefer to sell outright.

Finally, the squad depart today for the tour of the USA. Sixteen first team players will board the flight and the numbers will be boosted by some of the youth team players getting the chance to impress Carlo Ancelotti and his team.

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