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The Madrid press is slowly turning its attention to the weekend’s matches, although there is one story dominating the back pages today in Spain – the ongoing investigation into the cost of Neymar’s transfer to Barcelona last summer.

There have been all kinds of reports of dodgy deals, tax fraud, undeclared payments, agents fees…plenty for Madrid-based paper Marca to feed off!

AS opts for a picture of Atletico de Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois on its front page this morning, and says the young Belgian stopper is a key transfer target for Real Madrid in the summer. The future of Diego Lopez and Iker Casillas at Los Blancos remains in doubt. particularly the latter, who has been restricted to appearances in the Champions League and Copa del Rey for the last year or so.

And AS says Casillas is likely to move on, with a number of destinations possible, including Premier League giants Manchester City. In that scenario, Carlo Ancelotti would need a need man between the sticks to cover or challenge Lopez.

Courtois has been on loan at Atletico for three years, and is believed to been keen to stay in Spain rather than return to Chelsea as he does not want to sit on the bench while number one Petr Cech remains at Stamford Bridge.

Elsewhere, Elche forward Cristain Herrera says Jese is a player a lot of young Spaniards look up to as a reference point, and he wants to swaps shirts after the game on Saturday.

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Sergio Ramos will sit out this weekend’s match with Elche to ensure his is available for the Madrid derby next weekend, according to reports.

Marca claims Carlo Ancelotti will rest the Madrid vice-captain in favour of Raphael Varane, who is recently back from long-term injury problems.

Ramos is a yellow card away from a one-match ban in La Liga, and with Los Blancos set to visit the Vicente Calderon in a match that will have a huge bearing on the destination of this year’s title, Ancelotti is said to be taking no chances and wants his defensive lynchpin available.

The World Cup winner has formed a superb centre-back pairing with Pepe this season. In 2014 along, Los Blancos have kept 10 clean sheets in the 12 games they’ve played.

Varane has only returned following a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The former Lens player, who impressed in his debut season last year, picked up a knee injury while on international duty with France last November. It was a blow to the youngster who had to watch from the sidelines through injury at the end of last season as Los Blancos unraveled and failed to win a trophy and experience success in Jose Mourinho’s last campaign in charge.

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Luka Modric and Gareth Bale have become two of Real Madrid’s most important players since moving from Tottenham Hotspur, according to former Spurs and Los Blancos boss Juande Ramos.

Bale joined the Santiago Bernabeu side last summer for a 91 million euros fee, 12 months after Luka Modric signed for the Spanish giants. Both players struggled to impose themselves in the side at the start of their time in the Spanish capital, but have since become central to Carlo Ancelotti’s team.

The turning point for Modric was the Champions League match against Manchester United last season, when he scored a sensational goal at Old Trafford. Since then, he has become crucial to Madrid’s midfield, forming a great understanding with Xabi Alonso and Angel di Maria.

In his first campaign at the club, Bale has scored 11 goals and assisting nine more after overcoming injury problems.

Speaking to AS newspaper, Ramos hailed the duo, saying: “It’s no wonder Bale’s performances have been inconsistent. He has immense talent but adaptation is always difficult and he can contribute so much. If we look at the minutes he has played, he has scored lots of goals. He will succeed wherever he plays.”

“I have people in Croatia who alerted me to him,” Ramos added on Modric.”The problem was he was young and needed to adjust. Now he’s mature and is the player we thought he’d become. Modric has the personality to carry the weight of the game.”

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Former Real Madrid forward Jorge Valdano believes anxiety is behind star signing Gareth Bale’s inconsistency.

The 24-year-old joined Los Blancos for a record €100 million fee last summer and has so far made 25 appearances, scoring 11 goals and notching 10 assists.

Valdano claims the Welshman is yet to adapt to the pace of the Spanish league, and feels the spotlight is wrongly sticking with the former Tottenham Hotspur player.

“Bale has a rare anxiety because he doesn’t seem to be with the pace of the game,” the Argentine told AS.

“When you’re anxious, you play at a speed above what suits you, but he is absent. The team saves him. There are many points of attention, including Jese, who is going unnoticed in Bale’s bad moments.”

Bale’s next game will be Sunday’s league tie against strugglers Elche, where he will hope to recapture the kind of form that saw him score 26 goals in his last 44 games in England.

In his three year spell at the club as a player, Valdano won La Liga twice, along with two Uefa Cup titles, and a Copa del Rey. At international level, he scored seven goals in 23 appearances for his native Argentina.

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Real Madrid right back Daniel Carvajal rallied a war cry, stating that the Los Blancos are aiming for the triple, and that they will “fight to our last breath to achieve it.

At the launch of the new pair of Nike boots, that Carvajal will wear during matches, the 22 year old academy graduate said that it has reached an important stage of the season and that now they must fight for every win.

Carvajal said “I would give anything to win the triple. We are in the months where everything is decided.” “We are joint leaders in La Liga, in the final of the Copa, and now the Champions League is starting as well. Winning all three titles is not easy. We will fight to our last breath to achieve it.”

The Spaniard also spoke about his own personal fight to stay in the starting eleven, explaining “The manager has been rotating Álvaro and me and both of us are trying to make this hard for him so that he has to decide.”

Carvajal spoke about his manager in a positive manner too, “Ancelotti makes me feel confident. He always keeps us alert, attentive, and creates a good atmosphere”.

The right-back rose through the youth ranks at Real Madrid before leaving for a year to gain first team experience in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkussen. He rejoined the Santiago Bernabeu club last summer.

* Follow George Galpin on Twitter at @GGalpin95

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It’s pretty quiet on the Real Madrid front in the Madrid press this morning, with the the main story being Atletico de Madrid’s 1-0 win over AC Milan at the San Siro last night.

But dig a little deeper and there are some interesting bits and pieces around. Firstly, Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti was interviewed by Marca to get his thought’s on the Champions League performance by Barcelona against Manchester City, and how he will approach the next Clasico fixture in March.

And he admitted that his experiment playing Sergio Ramos in centre midfield at the Nou Camp back in October was a mistake. Los Blancos went down 2-1 that night, and Ancelotti was heavily criticised for sending out an odd line-up from the start.

“It was a mistake, yes. But you have to remember that in that game had no Xabi Alonso and Asier Illarramendi was not fit,” he stated.

Elsewhere, Iker Casillas may make a return to the starting line-up in La Liga before the end of the season. The manager said both keepers have performed well, but there may be an opportunity for Casillas to play more regularly. The Spain number one recently set the club record for the amount of time without conceding a goal.

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Real Madrid are not interested in signing Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal, manager Carlo Ancelotti has said.

The Chilean international has been linked with the Santiago Bernabeu club in the past couple of transfer windows, even though he has a long-term deal at the Old Lady until 2017. Reports again resurfaced last week that Madrid will make a 60 million bid for the midfielder after the World Cup this summer.

But speaking to Italian paper, Corriere dello Sport, Ancelotti said he has enough midfielders at his disposal and will not be making a move for Vidal.

“It is true that we are lacking a midfielder, but many people forget that before the end of the season we will have Khedira back. And we in the meantime we can allow youngsters like Casemiro and [Asier] Illarramendi to have a chance to mature,” he stated.

Carlo Ancelotti, currently enjoying a 25 game unbeaten run in the Spanish capital, has opted for a 4-3-3 formation this season, with Xabi Alono playing the holding role and Angel di Maria and Luka Modric pushing further forward to create chances for the front three.

* Follow Paul Collins on Twitter at @pabmundo

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Florentino Perez has recently unveiled the project for the future Santiago Bernabeu, which includes a hotel, a new shopping centre, a park, a gym and a sports clinic among other facilities.

The capacity of the stadium will increase and a retractable roof will cover the field. The new Santiago Bernabeu will also have a 360 degree electronic scoreboard and a facade that will turn into a giant screen for communication and advertising purposes.

Spanish newspaper Marca recently published a superb infographic explaining the construction process step by step. Here at Realmadridnews.com, we’ve thought such a great job deserved to be translated into English so all non-Spanish speaking Real Madrid fans can enjoy it.

The Santiago Bernabeu’s remodelling will cost 400 million euros and will be finished by 2017.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE INFOGRAPHIC IN FULL SIZE

infographic-santiago-bernabeu-new-stadium

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Champions League trophy

Bayern Munich are the favourites for this season’s Champions League according to Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian told to Corriere dello sport: “They’re the favourites for three reasons. Firstly, they’re a strong team with a coach who knows how to win this competition.

“Secondly, they’re champions and this is important. Thirdly, they have already won the league in practice and can devote their attention to the Champions League. This is the most important reason.”

The German club, now led by Pep Guardiola after the retirement of Jupp Heynckes last summer, also added Mario Gotze and Thiago Alcantara to their treble-winning squad of last season.

They meet English club Arsenal, currently occupying second place in the Premier League, at the Emirates Stadium, tonight.

The two clubs met at the same stage in the competition last season, with the Bavarians comfortably winning the away leg 3-1, only to end up clinging on to victory via away goals with a 2-0 loss at home.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s imprtance to Los Blancos was also the subject of discussion for Ancelotti, who replied: “He’s highly professional who is very focused on Madrid, like all of us. He does not live for comparisons with other players. La Decima is the dream for every Madridista.”

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Real Madrid assistant manager has said his son Luca has what it takes to become a top goalkeeper.

The Los Blancos legend’s son is currently playing for the Madrid youth teams and has impressed his coaches, and his famous dad, with some impressive displays.

And speaking to Le Buteur, Zidane senior said Luca has plenty of ability and is  a hard worker – the perfect combination that could see him rise to the top of the game.

“He’s a hard worker and he’s got everything to be a success in football,” he stated.

Famous for scoring two goals in the World Cup final for France against Brazil in 1998, and his sensational goal for Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final, Zidane is recognized as one of the finest attacking players to have ever played the game.

And in the interview, he explained why Luca has ended up playing in goal, rather than follow in his father’s footsteps.

“When he got home to play with [older brother] Enzo, Luca would go in goal. The eldest always chooses, so Luca went in goal. And one day he said to me that he liked it, and that he wanted to be a keeper.  When someone has quality they can be successful, but we’ll have to wait because he’s only 16,” he revealed.

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