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Nacho Fernandez has signed a new long-term contract with Real Madrid, the club has confirmed in a statement.

The 24-year-old defender has had to make do with an understudy role at the Santiago Bernabeu, coming into the side to replace Pepe and Sergio Ramos when one of the normal centre backs is injured or rested.

But the defender put pen to paper on the new deal that will see him remain at the club until the end of the 2020-21 season.

In Carlo Ancelotti’s first term in charge, Nacho made 12 appearances in La Liga as Real Madrid finished third, and also featured three times in the Champions League as Los Blancos went all the way in the competition to beat Atletico de Madrid in the final and secure the much sought after 10th European Cup.

A statement on Real Madrid’s official website revealed the new deal for Nacho. It read:: “Real Madrid announce Nacho Fernandez’s contract has been extended for the next six seasons and will run until the 2020-21 campaign.”

The Madrid-born defender has grown up at the club having played for its various youth teams. He was given his first team debut in 2011 by former boss Jose Mourinho in a 6-0 win over Valencia.

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James Rodriguez has emerged as  one of the best players in the World Cup so far. As a result of his mesmerizing displays, the sports papers in Spain claim Real Madrid are interested  in signing him for next season.  But, to be a success at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Monaco player would have to overcome a curse that affects Colombians who have donned the famous white shirt.

To date, only two players from this South American country have played for Real Madrid and both went through more agony than glory at Chamartin: Freddy Rincon and Edwin Congo. The first to arrive in the capital of Spain was Rincón.

Following a good season on loan at Napoli, the midfielder was targeted by Jorge Valdano to become his first signing in the 95/96 season. Real Madrid did not hesitate to pay Palmeiras just over four million euros to secure his signature. The figure may now seem ridiculously small for a team like Madrid, but at that time was a significant amount.

However, Rincón never performed at the level that was expected of him. Moreover, Valdano was sacked during the season and Arsenio Iglesias, the man who replaced him in the dugout  did not play him much. Therefore, at the end of the season he was sold.

Rather than be self-critical of his below-par performances, Rincon recently stated in an interview with Marca that his poor showing was due to the”racism” that existed in Spain: “Unfortunately, I went through a very difficult period, because it was when racism was very marked at the time. That was one of the things that really hurt me a lot. It meant I could no longer play and have the opportunity to succeed at Real Madrid. ”

Congo also didn’t set the world alight at Real Madrid. The striker joined the club in the summer of 1999 from Once Caldas, with Los Blancos paying an amount close to five million euros. The signing of Congo was surrounded by a lot of mystery, as his stats were not spectacular in Colombia and noone at the club took responsibility for his recruitment.

In fact, legend has it that Real Madrid signed Congo based on a report sent to the club by a 14-year-old teenager. Because Los Blancos had already filled its places in the squad, Real Madrid decided to loan Congo to Valladolid. It was the first of many loan spells he spent away from Madrid.

In none of those loan periods did he show anything of the sort of form that would be worthy of a place in the Real Madrid squad, and therefore was never given a first team opportunity. James Rodriguez could break the Colombian curse if he signed for Real Madrid.

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Diego Lopez

Italian side Napoli are targeting Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez as a possible replacement for Pepe Reina, according to reports.

Reina had been on loan at the club from Liverpool last season, but with his situation still unclear, the Seria A have turned their attention to 32-year-old Lopez, Cadena Ser says.

The future of both Lopez and Iker Casillas at Real Madrid have been in doubt for some time, with reports suggesting one, or even both could leave this summer. The pair have been fighting for the first team spot for the last 18 months, with Lopez normally picked for league games and Casillas for cup matches.

The Spanish press has reported this week that Los Blancos are interested in signing Keylor Navas and Kiko Casilla, which would throw Lopez’ future into even more uncertainty.

Cadena Ser said negotionations between Napoli and Lopez would be fairly straightforward if they can agree a fee with Real, as he shares the same agent as Napoli boss Rafa Benitez.

The Italian side have enjoyed doing business with Real in recent times. Twelve months ago they signed a trio of Los Blancos players in Raul Albiol, Jose Callejon and Gonzalo Higuain.

Lopez played 36 times in La Liga last season, keeping 16 clean sheets along the way.

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It’s been going on for weeks now, but the transfer of Alvaro Morata away from Real Madrid may finally be reaching a conclusion.

The young forward is keen on a switch away from the Spanish capital in search of more regular first team football and has been linked with a number of clubs across Europe, including Arsenal, Wolfsburg and Chelsea.

But a report by Sky Italia has said Morata’s agent has been in Turin to negotiate a deal with Juventus, who are now favourites to sign the 21-year-old. The deal, according to the report, would see the Italian champions sign the striker for a fee of 15 million euros.

The transfer would also include a buy back deal for Los Blancos, which is standard procedure when the 10-time European Cup winners agree to see a young player. A couple of years ago they sold Daniel Carvajal to Bayer Leverkussen but bought him back 12 months later.

Morata scored six goals last season and played an important role off the bench under Carlo Ancelotti, but he is well down the pecking order at the Santiago Bernabeu. Among the young forwards vying for a place in the squad, Jese Rodriqguez has moved ahead of him. Talk of Madrid wanting to sign a new forward such as Falcao would limit Morata’s options even further.

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The quarter finals of the World Cup begin tonight with France taking on Germany and Brazil going head-to-head with Colombia. On Saturday, Holland play Costa Rica before Argentina face Germany.

And the papers in Madrid focus on the five Los Blancos players still taking part: Marcelo, Sami Khedira, Raphael Varane, Karim Benzema and Angel di Maria.  Plus they have an eye on the other two probable Real players – Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez.

Yesterday, Marca said the deal for Kroos was done but just not announced yet. But the player himself responded to those reports saying nothing was signing, and his future won’t be decided until after the World Cup.

Marca goes with a picture of James Rodriguez on its front page this morning and says Monaco are willing to negotiate a deal, but that it will take a huge offer – in the region of 75 million euros to tempt them into parting with their star man.

Elsewhere, Nacho Fernandez has signed a new six-year deal at the club. The central defender has found his chances limited at the club, but Los Blancos rate him highly and see him as one for the future, which is why they were keen to tie him down to a long-term contract.

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Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has joined in a campaign to save a young schoolgirl in Wales in need of a bone marrow transplant by wearing a pair of pants on his head.

The Los Blancos forward, who scored the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final and the crucial second goal in the Champions League final, took time out of his summer holiday to add his support to the campaign to save Hollie Clark.

The eight-year-old was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow syndrome in April and needs regular blood transfusions until a suitable donor is found. He family launched the @HelpHollie #pantsonyourhead campaign to encourage people between the ages of 16 and 30 to sign up as a donor with the Anthony Nolan Trust.

The idea upload pictures of people with pants on their heads came after Hollie’s uncle did that to make his niece laugh. Since starting the campaign, it has been a huge hit on social media, with other Welsh sports stars such as Sam Warburton and Jonathan Davies getting involved.

And Bale became the biggest name yet to throw his weight behind the campaign, tweeting a picture of himself with a pair of white pants on his head with the email [email protected] written across the front.

His message read: “Hollie is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Please RT! #pantsonyourhead @HelpHollie”

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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has agreed  new deal with the club, according to a report in AS.

The Madrid-based daily said confirmation of the new contract would come until after the World Cup as the Frenchman is still involved in the latter stages of the competition.

But it claimed the 26-year-old forward agreed the contract extension before setting off for Brazil with Les Bleus.

According to AS, Real Madrid showed their intent early on this summer by refusing to include him in any potential swap deal with PSG that would have seen midfielder Marco Verratti move the other way. Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, now the manager at Real Madrid Castilla, were both also adamant Benzema should have been given a new deal

Since signing from the club from Lyon in 2009, Benzema has scored 111 goals in 235 games for Los Blancos. He helped the club win the Copa del Rey and the Champions League this season, scoring 24 goals along the way. During his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, he has also won La Liga, the Spanish Supercopa and another Copa del Rey.

He is currently top scorer for France at this year’s World Cup, having scored three goals. France take on Germany in the quarter final tomorrow night.

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Angel di Maria could be set to leave Real Madrid after four seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Argetinian has been rumoured to be included in deals to bring Luis Suarez, James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao, among others, and that has made him feel underestimated.

Thus, he could have started considering offers to leave this summer, and there are at least half a dozen clubs interested in signing him.

French giants Monaco and Paris Saint Germain have long been interested in Di Maria. Real might want to send the 26-year-old to Monaco as part of Rodriguez’s or Falcao’s transfer, but the Rouge et Blanc are not a priority for the Argentinian.

On the other hand, PSG is an attractive destination for El Fideo, after having reinforced their squad with David Luiz. The Paris side have become a stronger contender to the Champions League title, and that’s what Di Maria requires above all.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have also shown an interest in Real’s midfielder. There are very few players of his talent in the market, and all the big Premier League clubs know Di Maria would be a high quality add.

Juventus have also been eyeing the Argentinian, but they won’t have the money to pay for his signing unless they sell Paul Pogba or Arturo Vidal. Plus, Di Maria is not interested in moving to Italy.

Di Maria has not forgotten Real tried to include him as part of Gareth Bale’s deal among others, and he will not stay in the club unless he’s proven to be a priority for Los Blancos. Carlo Ancelotti has insisted the Argentinian is a crucial player for him, but Los Merengues directors might have a diferent point of view.

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Premier League side Arsenal are targeting Real Madrid star Sami Khedira as their big summer signing, according to British press.

The Independent reports that Arsenal are making defensive midfield as the key area to strengthen during the summer window, and that the 27-year-old German fits the bill.

Khedira has had an injury plagued season, and that has affected his status in not only the Real squad, but his national team too.

And a move to the Gunners could provide him with a revitalising change in his career, with the German only having a year left on his contract at the Bernabeu.

Because of the length of his contract, Real would not want to lose Khedira for free in 2015, and an offer of around 28 million euros is maybe too hard to resist, and with wages of 70,000 euros per week, Arsenal would deem him as within their wage bracket.

The German, who came through the ranks at his hometown club of Stuttgart, has made 144 appearance for Los Blancos, and the upcoming game with France should be his 50th cap for Germany.

Khedira won the Bundesliga with Stuttgart in 2007, and played five times for Real in Europe on the way to Real’s famous La Decima.

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There’s no World Cup action until tomorrow, so the five Real Madrid players still involved in the tournament are having some rest before preparing for the quarter finals.

It means there is plenty more space in the papers for Real Madrid news, and once again, today’s editions of Marca and AS are largely filled with transfer stories. We’ll start with the main story on Marca about Toni Kroos. The on-off saga has been going on for weeks, but according to the paper it looks like the deal is finally nearing completion.

Previous to this morning, no actual transfer fee had been mention, but Marca says the 24-year-old German will sign for 25 million euros from Bayern Munich on a five year deal.

AS goes with the other main story of the week – Falcao. Although there is little to update in terms of movement on the deal, the paper says the Colombian will take the number nine shirt at Real Madrid, with Karim Benzema switching to number 10 when the new campaign gets underway.

Elsewhere, Gareth Bale has had a low key summer having not been involved at the World Cup. And the Welshman has been talking about the importance of the Super Cup being played in Cardiff. He said: “We’ve not had an event as big as this in Cardiff for a while and it means a lot to the city.”

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