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Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo should be fine for Portugal’s game against the USA on Sunday despite suffering from knee tendonitis, according to team mate Miguel Veloso.

Ronaldo played the full ninety minutes as Germany thrashed a below-par Portugal team 4-0, who had Real defender Pepe sent off for aggressively pushing his head into Thomas Mueller.

The Portuguese forward, who arrived at the World Cup after a spectacular season at the Bernabeu in which he scored to help Real win the Champions League for the tenth time and won the Ballon D’Or for the second time in his career, but has struggled with knee problems since the end of the season.

His lack of fitness showed against Germany as he was on the periphery of the action, and doctors claim that he could be risking his future career by persisting to play.

But his team mate Miguel Veloso, who came through Sporting Lisbon’s youth system with Ronaldo as well as playing internationally with the 29 year old, says that Ronaldo looks like he is fit.

Veloso said “I’m not a doctor but from what I see, Cristiano Ronaldo is fine,”

“He is training, he is jumping and he is shooting. There is not much else to say.

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Real Madrid and Spain defender Sergio Ramos has said the national team squad is fully supportive of coach Vicente del Bosque and will respect any decision he makes over his future.

Following Spain’s early elimination from the World Cup after defeats to Holland and Chile, del Bosque admitted he would consider his future. There is much debate in the Spanish press over the future of the boss, as well as a number of the more senior players such as Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Iker Casillas and Xavi Hernandez.

Del Bosque, who guided Real Madrid to success to the Champions League in his time as boss at the Santiago Bernabeu, oversaw Spain’s triumph in the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championships two years later.

Speaking after the loss to Chile, Ramos stated the players would support any decision the manager made.

“We must always be together in tough moments. Today is not the day to draw conclusions, we have a very bright future. Vicente del Bosque deserves complete respect. We’ll be with him, whatever he decides.”

Ramos later added: “I don’t want to say that [it’s the end of an era] because this is the same team that became champions of the world and Europe. We’ve made history in our country and you can’t forget that.”

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The papers in Spain are still dissecting the disastrous World Cup campaign suffered by the national side and working out what went wrong.

And the main news on the front pages this morning is that Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso will retire from La Roja after Spain have completed their match with Australia on Monday. The 32-year-old had a below par tournament and looked leggy in both matches against Holland and Chile.

According to Marca, Alonso made the decision to retire from international football before the World Cup. He was part of the side that won two European Championships and the World Cup. And will leave having played 113 times. He was on the winning side 88 times, drew 12, and lost 13. Alonso scored 16 goals for his country, his last being the penalty kick against Holland.

The future if Iker Casillas at Los Blancos has been up in the air for some time ans AS says the keeper has agreed with president Florentino Perez to be allowed to leave the club in 2015 – two years before the end of his current deal. With Madrid still looking at other options for the goalkeeper position, Casillas will stay at the club this season, the paper says, before moving on in 12 months time.

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Champions League trophy

Real Madrid have reached the top of UEFA’s Club Ranking, ousting German champions Bayern Munich, who have fallen to third position.

Los Blancos’ Champions League victory has given them a total 161.542 points, beating Barcelona’s 157.542 and Bayern’s 154.328.

Madrid were second last year, after three consecutive seasons reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. This time, they have finally managed to get on top thanks to the 39.600 points gained by their victory in Lisbon. Runners-up Atletico Madrid have moved to seventh position.

Los Merengues have returned to the top after a long wait. The six consecutive seasons being knocked out in the last-16 round of the Champions League had see them drop drastically in the rankings. However, the good results of the last four years have changed that trend.

With such a comfortable points advantage and a squad with such a brilliant future, Real Madrid should have no problem to hold that first spot for a while. In fact, they would just need to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League next season in order to retain their status as the number one in UEFA’s list.

* Follow Realmadridnews.com on Twitter at @realmadridnewsw and get all the latest Real Madrid news.

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Premier League runners-up Liverpool are lining up a move for Germany and Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, according to reports in Spain.

Madrid-based sports daily Marca says the five-time European Cup winners want to sign the 26-year-old to add more protection in front of the back four which was at times too exposed last season, ultimately costing Brendan Roger’s side their first league success since 1990.

The Reds also need to start thinking about a long-term replacement for club captain Steven Gerrard, who is in the twilight of his career now after carrying the team on his own at times for the past decade or more.

Khedira was signed by Madrid in 2010 after the World Cup in South Africa and has put in some impressive performances in his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. He missed a large chunk of last season though having suffered a knee injury while on international duty in November and only made his comeback towards the end of the campaign.

He was part of the side, however, that helped Los Blancos lift the Champions League trophy in Lisbon – their 10th European Cup win.

Much speculation has surrounded the German though, with a number of top Premier League sides reported to be interested. Should Liverpool make a bid for Khedira, it is thought the likes of FA Cup winners Arsenal, along with Manchester United and Chelsea will follow suit.

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Devastated Portugal left-back Fabio Coentrao has said he needs to put his World Cup heartbreak behind him and concentrate on being ready to play for Real Madrid again.

The 26-year-old was part of the Portugal side that lost 4-0 to Germany in their opening match of the tournament, but was stretchered off in the second half with a thigh injury.

Now the serious of the injury has been confirmed, with the left-back ruled out of the rest of the tournament. And Coentrao says he must focus on being ready to play for his club side again to help him get over the disappointment of missing the rest of Portugal’s trip to Brazil.

In a statement released to the press, Coentrao said: “As everybody knows, it’s a serious injury that requires care and attention.”

The former Benfica man, who has already packed his bags ready to return to the Spanish capital for his recovery, continued: “I have to look after myself, because in one month’s time, it all starts again, it will be pre-season. I have to think about making a full recovery in this month and being able to help Real Madrid.”

Portugal face an uphill battle to qualify for the next round, and take on USA and Ghana in their final two group games.

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There is much debate going on in the Spanish press at the moment about the future of the national team in the wake of the disastrous World Cup the holders have suffered.

Questions hang over the long-term futures of the elder statesmen such as Xabi Alonso, Xavi Hernandez, Iker Casillas and Fernando Torres. Despite guiding his team to a World Cup and European Championship, boss Vicente del Bosque is also under pressure.

For Real Madrid fans though, there is some good news to wake up to – season ticket prices for the Santiago Bernabeu will remain the same next season as they were this. The cheapest season tickets (in the lower level) will cost 223 euros for league games, or 323 euros for league and Champions League. The most expensive tickets, in the west stand of the stadium, will cost 1,840 euros for the league, or 2,384 for league and Champions League.

There are some transfer stories out there too. Much has been written about Toni Kroos, the Bayern Munich midfielder, wanted by Real, Manchester United and Chelsea. The German has said he will decide on his future after the World Cup.

And Marca claims Los Blancos are keeping tabs on Inigo Martinez, the Real Sociedad central defender as an option to bring in to replace Pepe in the long-term.

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Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has said the dominance his country has enjoyed over the last six year is over after La Roja were knocked out of the World Cup at the group stage.

The 32-year-old took his place in the starting line-up for Spain but couldn’t prevent them losing 2-0 to Chile. Indeed, Alonso struggled to cope with the South American’s high pressing game and was removed at half time for younger midfielder Koke. Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos also played for Vicente del Bosque’s men.

Having delighted football fans across the world for the last six years with their incredible passing game, this World Cup has been hugely disappointing for the current holders. The 2-0 loss to Chile was preceded by a 5-1 defeat to Holland on Friday night.

Speaking after the game, Alonso hinted that changes would need to be made to the side and younger players would need to step and and move the national side forward.

“We didn’t know how to maintain our hunger or that conviction needed to win a tournament,” he said.

“The joy and success we’ve experienced is over. Normally cycles come to an end after a defeat. Maybe it would be best to think about making changes,” the former Liverpool man added.

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Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas says it is too early for the national side to make changes after their shock early exit from the World Cup.

Spain lost 2-0 to Chile on Wednesday night, which, coupled with the 5-1 loss to Holland on Friday, meant they will head home early with Australia rather than take their place in the last 16.

There has been much talk in the hours following the loss about the end of an era for the Spanish side, and changes having to be made. The squad has been largely unchanged for the last few years but now questions are being asked.

Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez, all key players to have helped Spain win Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, as well as the World Cup in 2010, are all into their 30s now and reaching the twilight of their careers.

But Casillas said nothing drastic should be done in the wake of the exit.

“If in a World Cup you lose the first two matches it explains everything. We ask for people’s forgiveness, though hopefully they know that we did everything possible to make them happy again. But it wasn’t to be,” he stated.

And he added: “We are the first people responsible and we are very hurt. It’s been a tough blow and we need to take it. I don’t think we need to talk about that. This is not the day to start blaming people and discussing whether to change or not change.

“There are some players who are over 30, the coach will make his decisions and we will respect them.”

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Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos will be starting their summer holidays earlier than expected after Spain crashed out of the World Cup at the first hurdle.

The 2010 winners followed up their 5-1 defeat to Holland on Friday with a 2-0 loss to Chile last night, meaning the South American side joins Louis Van Gaal’s team in the second round, while Australia and Spain, who face each other in a dead rubber on Monday evening, go home early.

The Real Madrid trio all started the game at the iconic Maracana stadium, and the damage was done in the opening 45 minutes, with Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz grabbing the goals to send Vicente del Bosque’s shell-shocked side home.

Luka Modric had a better evening though, as the Real Madrid man was part of the Croatia side that easily saw of Cameroon. Ivica Olic, Mario Mandzukic (2) and Ivan Perisic got the goals, while Barcelona’s Alex Song was sent off for Cameroon. Croatia play Mexico next knowing a win over them will take them into the next round.

Chile, backed by 40,000 fans in the stadium, put Spain under pressure from the off, and their pressing game throughout was hugely impressive.

The opened their scored in style, and as a result of their high pressure tactic, with Alonso forced into a sloppy backpass. Barcelona winger Alexis Sanchez burst down the right hand side before Aranguiz squared for Vargas to round Casillas and slot home into an empty net.

Without ever threatening the Chile goal despite lots of possession, Spain needed to get to half time without conceding a second so they could regroup and make changes if necessary. But on the stroke of the interval Aranguiz doubled the lead. Casillas will be disappointed he didn’t deal with Sanchez’ free kick better – punching it straight at the feet of Aranguiz, who expertly finished with the outside of his boot.

Despite introducing Pedro, Santi Cazorla and Koke in the second period, Spain never got going, and exited the World Cup without much of a fight.

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