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Portuguese side FC Porto are keen to sign Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro on loan for the rest of the season, according to reports.

Spanish daily AS, claimed the Brazilian could be on his way to Porto to replace Fernando, who has strongly been linked with a switch to Premier League giants Manchester City before the winter window closes tomorrow night.

Casemiro joined Real Madrid this time last season, initially on a six-month loan, and he played for Castilla – Madrid’s reserve team. Los Blancos took up the option of signing him on a permanent basis in the summer and paid Sao Paolo six million euros for his services.

But the young central midfielder has had his path to first team football blocked in recent months, despite some impressive performances earlier on in the campaign. Xabi Alonso, Asier Illarrameni, Sami Khedira and Luka Modric are all ahead of him in the pecking order at the Santiago Bernabeu, and a spell away on loan could help his development.

A number of other La Liga clubs have also expressed their interest in the player, including the likes of Malaga and Real Betis. The 21-year-old would not leave on a permanent deal though, having recently signed a contract extension tying him down to Los Blancos until 2017.

 

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Gareth Bale has missed one more training session with his teammates and could stay on the sidelines Real Madrid’s trip to face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

The Welshman was struck by Jeison Murillo in last weekend’s victory over Granada, and he hasn’t taken part in any regular trainings since then due to discomfort in his calf muscle.

Bale has been working in the gym in order to be fit for Athletic’s game, but the fact that this is his fifth injury of the season could make Real’s technical staff opt to rest him in order to prevent further injuries.

The 24-year-old has only played 57% of the total minutes this season, and his physical problems are worrying Los Blancos directors, especially since his signing cost 91 million euros.

However, this is not new for Bale, as he has suffered 30 muscle injuries so far in his professional career.

Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that Bale will start if he’s fit to play. If he doesn’t make it in the squad, youngster Jese Rodriguez will very likely replace the Welshman in the starting eleven.

* Follow Alejandro Gonzalez on Twitter @alejandrognieto

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Real Madrid press report 31-1-14

Spanish sports newspaper Marca publishes today the full interview with Sergio Ramos following the defender’s tenth anniversary as a professional football player.

The 27-year-old claimed “This generation deserves to win a Champions League,” in a reference to the current Real Madrid squad. Iker Casillas is the only player that has won the European title as a Los Blancos player.

Ramos told Marca he hopes his name “will last in the history of football.” He also confessed he’s living “a spectacular moment of his life.”

The Madrid-based daily also highlights on its front page the fact that Gareth Bale couldn’t train again due to physical problems. “He’s a doubt for Bilbao’s game,” they point out.

Meanwhile, the other main Spanish sports newspaper, As, emphasizes on its front page that the new project for the Santiago Bernabeu’s remodeling will be unveiled today by Florentino Perez.

* Follow Real Madrid News on Twitter

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Real Madrid vice-captain Sergio Ramos claims his desire to win has not dulled in his 10 years as a professional football player.

The 27 year-old made his debut for Sevilla a decade ago and now finds himself rubbing shoulders with footballs elite and consistently makes the FIFAPro World XI.

“What remains of the kid at Sevilla is the same dream of always wanting to win. I still have that today,” Ramos told Marca.

“I wake up every day with a smile and, in that sense, I feel the same as I did when I arrived at Real Madrid in 2005.

Since arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu, Ramos has gone on to become a World Champion with Spain and has won La Liga three times.

“Back then, I was a boy who came to conquer the world and looked forward to achieving great goals. Today, I’ve achieved many of them.

“The 10 years have gone by very quickly because I have enjoyed it. I wake up every day with tremendous enthusiasm.”

Ramos has made almost 400 appearances for Los Blancos.

Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156

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When Karim Benzema scored Real Madrid’s second goal in Los Blancos 2-0 victory over Granada, he reached the 101 goal mark for the Spanish club.

The Frenchman, who arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer of 2009, keeps an average of 0.5 goals per game in his five seasons with Los Merengues.

With six goals in the last seven matches, he’s in fantastic shape at the moment in all aspects of his game.

This video shows the first 100 goals Benzema has scored for Real Madrid. For more goals and match highlights, check out our Real Madrid matches page.

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After Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Espanyol in the Copa Del Rey on Tuesday night, goalscorer Jese Rodriguez has set his sights on winning a Ballon D’or award in the next four years, Marca reports.

The ambitious young Spaniard, teammates with the current trophy holder, Cristiano Ronaldo, is highly thought of in the Spanish capital and has the achievement set as his long term target.

But first the 20 year-old’s focus is to achieve his short term goals. The youngster said: “My aim is to score ten goals, to see if I can. But I’ve dreamed of winning the Ballon D’or in four years.”

However, Jese was quick to defer praise to Xabi Alonso for his role in yesterday’s goal, saying: “He [Xabi Alonso] is a great passer of the ball, he gave me an incredible pass which I took and scored.”

“I rely a lot on myself but I’m always respectful to my colleagues. You have to adapt and know the role of all the players at Madrid,” he added.

However, it is unlikely that Jese will be retained in the starting line-up for this weekend’s La Liga fixture away at Athletic Bilbao with the strong competition for places at Madrid.

Jese understands that he must keep working if he is to eventually break through into the first team, past the likes of Gareth Bale. “Bale is a great player, when he’s fit again he will show it. The position is his and I have to keep working,” he commented.

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AC Milan have joined the hunt for Real Madrid full-back Fabio Coentrao and are looking to sign his services before the January window closes, according to new reports this week.

Several news outlets including AS reported that new Milan boss Clarence Seedorf spoke to higher-ups at the club to request a left-back. Seedorf, who won the Champions League twice with the Nezzarossi during his 10 years at the club,

New Milan boss Clarence Seedorf, who won the Champions League twice with the Nezzarossi during his 10 years at the club, asked senior officials to purchase reinforcements to salvage a difficult season. Milan currently sit in ninth place and a whopping 28 points behind Serie A leaders Juventus.

Several news outlets including AS reported that at Seedorf’s request for a left-back, Milan official Adriano Galliani contacted Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, who himself spent eight successful years with the Italian giants.

Coentrao seems to want away from the Bernabeu with hopes for more first-team football. He has made a handful of appearances in the 2013-14 season, including only four in La Liga, and he continues to play backup to Marcelo.

The Portuguese international was heavily linked with Manchester United over the summer — and those rumours continue — but he signed a contract extension through 2018 in November.

Despite a growing list of suitors, Ancelotti reportedly does not want Coentrao to leave. Los Blancos often keep two quality players at each position, and the Italian coach seems to share this philosophy. While Alvaro Arbeloa and Nacho Fernandez could shift over to the left, neither have Coentrao’s quality at that position.

If Coentrao remains with Madrid, it will be important for him to break into the first team ahead of this summer’s World Cup. He played an important role in qualification with Portugal, and they will be eager to have him at his best in Brazil.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said his team has stepped up through the gears this month having found their natural style and game.

The manager was speaking after Los Blancos completed a perfect January, winning eight games out of eight, and keeping clean sheets in all of the games along the way. The 1-0 win over Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night ensured progress into the semi-final of the Copa del Rey.

In keeping Espanyol at bay, Real also set a new club record for consecutive clean sheets, beating the seven previously achieved in the 1994/95 season. Goalkeeper Iker Casillas also set a new record – his 682 minutes without letting a goal past him  surpassing Paco Boyo’s previous record.

Speaking to journalists after the match, Ancelotti said: “Our play is more natural now. It is because of the work done in the months before. The players are more comfortable now because of that, and because of their professionalism. All of the players train well every day and are very focused. That is the key to our good form.”

He went on to add: “I have already said that I think at this system gives us confidence. We have defensive balance because the whole team works hard to recover the ball quickly. The centre-backs have also improved.”

Looking forward to the weekend’s match against Athletic Bilbao, the Italian revealed he is expected a tough match. “It is very important and will be a difficult match. They are playing well at the moment and everyone knows that playing at San Mamés is not easy,” he stated.

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Having secured their passage through to the semi-final of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night, Real Madrid could sit back and watch what happened between Atletico de Madrid and Athletic Bilbao last night as they awaited their opponents.

And the 3-1 win for Real’s city rivals – the first team to beat Bilbao in the new San Mames stadium – confirmed an all Madrid semi-final showdown. AS goes with that news on its front cover today. Los Blancos will be out for revenge against Diego Simeone’s team, having lost the final of the same competition at the Santiago Bernabeu last season.

Throughout their history, Madrid have knocked Atletico out of the Copa on 12 occasions before the final, and beaten them once in the final. Los Rijoblancos have won four Copa del Rey finals against their illustrious neighbours, and knocked them out four times before reaching the final.

Marca has already switched its attention to the weekend’s La Liga matches, and Real Madrid’s visit to Athletic Bilbao. It will be a special weekend for Sergio Ramos, who will mark 10 years since his professional debut. He turned out for Sevilla against Deportivo la Coruna at the Riazor Stadium on Feburary 1 2004.

Since then, he has gone on to has a hugely successful career, winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey in Spain, and being a key part in his national side’s European Championship and World Cup triumphs.

In an interview with Marca, Ramos said the last decade has flown by, but still aged just 27, he hopes to have another 10 years at the top level.

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Real Madrid defender Nacho has said the team aims to win every game they play because anything less would not be good enough for a club its size.

Los Blancos qualified for the semi-final of the Copa del Rey after Jese scored in the 1-0 win over Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu. It completed a 2-0 overall score, with Carlo Ancelotti’s men having won by the same result in Barcelona last week.

Nacho, who has featured regularly for his side in the Copa del Rey competition, said he was delighted with another clean sheet – the team’s eighth in a row. But he warned the hardest part of the season is yet to come.

“We have a tough schedule, but we are in good form and keeping clean sheets, which is very important. We are Real Madrid and we have to go out there to win. We achieved the aim of getting through to the next round, which will be against whichever team deserves to go through from that tie,” he told reporters after the match.

The defender said it was also a special night for him and his family as Nacho’s brother Alex, who grew up in the Madrid youth team, was playing for Espanyol.

“I’m happy because the team are through to the semi-finals, which was the aim at the start, and also because of having played against my brother. It was very special when we played together for Castilla and today is also a day to remember,” he stated.

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