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Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira has said he is back to full fitness and looking forward to taking his place in the Germany side for this summer’s World Cup.

The central midfielder missed six months of the campaign having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury back in November while on international duty. He made his comeback for Los Blancos towards the end of the campaign, and played his part in the final of the Champions League as Madrid finally secured La Decima.

The 27-year-old gave his country a scare on Thursday when he went down holding his knee in a training ground match against the German Under-20 side. But speaking at a press conference, Khedira said he is feeling fine again now and is firing on all cylinders.

“I am fit, but there are still a few things that I have to work on,” Khedira said.  “My objective was to make the World Cup and things have been going very well. I think that I will be in peak condition again by June 16,” he added.

And he added: “You should always listen to your body, but I’m not holding back in training. I am doing additional exercises next to squad training to be prepared as well as possible. It was a long and hard road to get back. I worked very hard to make the World Cup.”

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Casemiro

Real Madrid’s young Brazilian midfielder Casemiro is subject of interest from fellow La Liga side Sevilla, according to reports.

Andalucian newspaper Estadio Deportivo claimed Sevilla boss Unai Emery wants to take Casemiro on loan for a year. And the player himself is said to be keen on a move in order to help his development.

The 22-year-old signed for Los Blancos last summer on a full time basis having impressed while initially on loan at Real Madrid Castilla. But with the likes of Xabi Alonso, Asier Illarramendi, Luka Modric and Sami Khedira ahead of him in the pecking order, he has found first team football hard to come by.

The Brazilian has impressed Real’s coaching staff when he has played, and the report says they would be unlikely to agree to a permanent deal as they want to allow him to develop before bringing him back into the first team fold at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Although it looks like he could be Sevilla bound, there is no shortage of clubs who would be interested in the midfielder, including the likes of Arsenal, Porto and Inter Milan.

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Johan Cruyff has claimed Real Madrid have been lucky in their Champions League victory, after having scored the equaliser against Atletico Madrid in the 93rd minute of the final.

“Real Madrid can’t complain of the luck they’ve had. As we the Dutch say, you can’t trust the Germans in the last five minutes because they always score. It’s the same here. The match is not over until the referee whistles,” Cruyff said in an interview with Spanish radio station COPE.

The former Barcelona manager refuesed to recognise that Los Blancos have been the best team in Europe this season. “In one football game you can’t say that a team is the best in Europe. I saw Bayern Munich winning and being successful, but they relaxed after winning the Bundesliga. Real had a strong team and played at 200% against them. We can say the same about the end of La Liga with Real, Barcelona and Atletico,” he pointed out.

Cruyff also spoke about the World Cup that will kick off in two weeks: “Spain have all their men playing in big leagues and they are experienced, so they have a great team, but Brazil are favourites because they play home.”

* Follow Alejandro Gonzalez on Twitter @alejandrognieto

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Today’s papers have plenty of coverage of Spain’s 2-0 win over Bolivia last night in the warm up game before the World Cup.

But there is also plenty of Real Madrid talk too in the press, with Marca opting for a picture of Florentino Perez and Carlo Ancelotti on the front cover. The pair met yesterday along with director Jose Angel Sanchez to discuss plans for next season, the paper says.

And AS has news of the meeting too, with the various topics up for discussion. Madridistas expecting an influx of signings will be disappointed as the club is unlikely to sign a lot of new players. But the players who do arrive will be world class.

The three would also have spoken about potential departures – Asier Illarramendi and Casemiro have been linked with loan moves away, while there is doubt over the futures of Diego Lopez, Alvaro Morata, Karim Benzema and Alvaro Arbeloa at Los Blancos. As well as sorting out the future of his playing staff, Ancelotti will be keen to know about what is going on with Paul Clement and Zinedine Zidane, his two assistant managers who have both been linked with jobs elsewhere.

In other news, Benzema has been speaking to the press in France and says he would love to see countryman Paul Pogba play alongside him at the Santiago Bernabeu. Juventus midfielder Pogba was linked with a move to Madrid last summer and could be a target once again this year.

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Ultras Sur

Real Madrid have been ordered to close part of their stadium for the first Champions League home game next season after the club has been charged for the racist incidents that occurred at the Santiago Bernabeu during the semi-final against Bayern Munich. Sectors 120 and 122 will be closed and the club will be required to display a banner reading “No to Racism” in them.

“Following the charge of racist behaviour by Real Madrid supporters during the match (Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations), the Control and Disciplinary Body has ordered the partial closure of the Santiago Bernabeu for one match,’ UEFA said in a statement. More specifically, sectors 120 and 122 of the stadium will be closed for the club’s next UEFA competition home game. Real Madrid are obliged to display a banner with the wording ‘No to Racism’ in those sectors,” UEFA has said in a statement.

Los Merengues directors have confirmed that they will appeal this decision, as they believe UEFA has missunderstood the meaning of the flags the fans displayed in those sectors. A representative from the club has told Marca that the symbols displayed are not related to any offensive ideology. Plus, Real’s directors are upset that it has taken UEFA five weeks to resolve this matter.

* Follow Real Madrid news on Twitter @realmadridnewsw

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Real Madrid left-back Marcelo has said he found this season at the club to be a difficult one as he didn’t play as much as would have liked.

The defender was left on the bench for the Champions League final, with manager Carlo Ancelotti preferring to start with Portugal international Fabio Coentrao.

Marcelo did make it onto the field in Lisbon last week, and scored his team’s third goal in the 4-1 win over city rivals Atletico de Madrid. That goal, he said, gave him a sense of accomplishment.

Speaking to journalists in his home country where he is preparing for the World Cup, Marcelo said:  “It has been a difficult season for me. Only I know what I went through to play that game and it was a sacrifice. Playing in the final and scoring was a relief and a sense of accomplishment. My family were very helpful and so was my work.”

When asked whether the Real Madrid team was stronger than the Brazil side, he refused to be drawn on an answer, saying it is difficult to compare a club team and a national side.

“Is Madrid stronger than the national team? One’s a club and the other’s a national team. They have nothing to do with each other. Do you think Brazil is missing cracks? Is that question yours? I think it’s despicable. You look at our team, the players that are here. And those who were left off the list. I haven’t secured a place in this team. That would be disrespectful to Maxwell. We are in the same boat, both fighting for a spot,” he responded.

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Claims that Cristiano Ronaldo and his brother Hugo made a pact if the Portugal international scored in the Champions League final are untrue, according to AS.

Some media outlets suggested the brothers agreed that if Ronaldo scored, Hugo would give up drinking alcohol – with some papers alleging he had drinking problem.

But AS said the brothers were furious at the reports of any pact and are considering legal action against those who printed the claims.

The story emerged after Los Blancos has seen off city rivals Atletico de Madrid 4-1 in Lisbon. After the game, Ronaldo dedicated the victory to his brother. When he scored the final goal from the penalty spot, the 29-year-old Ballon d’Or winner ran over to where Hugo was sitting an embraced him.

He also gave Hugo his shirt from the final, and the pair were seen hugging and crying at the final whistle. The pair have always been close, and Hugo runs a museum set up by Ronaldo in Madiera.On his way to helping his team win the coveted Decima Champions League, Ronaldo scored 17 goals, a new record in the competition for the number of goals scored in a single campaign. He has now linked up with his national team as they prepare for the World Cup in Brazil.

 

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Much of the attention in the Madrid press this morning is on the World Cup build up with many of the teams competing in Brazil playing warm up fixtures tonight.

Portugal take on Greece, but are unlikely to field Cristiano Ronaldo, who arrived at the training camp with a thigh issue that has troubled him since the Champions League final. The 29-year-old has had a number of niggling injuries in the latter stages of the campaign, and Portugal will not risk him until he is fit. After the game against Greece, they take on Mexico and Ireland in two more friendlies before the tournament starts.

Germany were also given an injury scare when Sami Khedira went down injured holding his right knee in a training match against the German Under-20 team. The central midfielder, who missed six months of the campaign having injured his anterior cruciate ligament in November, was involved in a collision with Malcolm Cacutalua. Thankfully, Khedira was ok, and he insisted he will be 100 per cent ready for the opening game in their group on June 16.

Elsewhere, Marcelo has said he endured a difficult year at Real Madrid and didn’t play as much as he’d liked to for one reason or another.

Speaking at a press conference with the Brazil national side, the left back said he relied on the support of his family and friends, and added that despite a tough year, scoring in the Champions League final was a dream come true.

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Real Madrid could make a move for long-term target Sergio Agüero this summer, Florentino Perez has hinted.

Speaking in a radio interview, the club president said no signings, including that of  Manchester City star Aguero, were imminent, but that could change in the near future.

Los Blancos are believed to be on the lookout for a new forward, with Karim Benzema’s future at the club in doubt. The first choice is Luis Suarez, but following his spectacular season with Liverpool, his asking price has increased from 12 months ago.

And Aguero is thought to be keen on a move back to Madrid having maintain close ties with friends and family in the city. He former wife Giannina moved back to the Spanish capital with their son Benjamin when they split up last year.

When asked about the potential signing of the 25-year-old Argentina forward, Perez said: “We are not thinking about making a move for Aguero – at the moment. Right now, there is no real urgency to sign new players.”

Aguero joined Manchester City for 40 million euros in 2011 from Real’s cross city rivals Atletico de Madrid. He scored 28 goals in 34 appearances in the campaign just finished and helped his side win the Carling Cup and Premier League double.

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Sergio Ramos should be in the running to win the Ballon d’Or this year, according to former Real Madrid defender Manuel Sanchis.

Ramos has had an outstanding season with Los Blancos and scored the dramatic 93rd minute equaliser for his side in the Champions League final when the team was staring down the barrel of defeat to city rivals Atletico. That goal swung the game, giving Los Blancos new impetus in extra time, and they eventually ran out 4-1 winners to secure the famous Decima.

As well as carrying out his defensive duties, Ramos also scored two crucial goal in the semi-final win at Bayern Munich as Carlo Ancelotti’s men knocked out the 2013 winners.

Speaking to the media, Sanchis said Ramos should get recognised for his achievements.

“We’ve known for a long time that Ramos is the best defender in the world, I’ve never doubted that,” Sanchis said, before adding “I already put him amongst the candidates for the Ballon d’Or. A player of his quality and performance has to be considered.”

He then went on to say: “I have a theory that teams are built from back to front. The centre of defence is crucial because you have the ability to dictate and Sergio influences because his game is not only defence. He’s a complete player.”

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