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Sergio Ramos has claimed the UEFA Champions League is something greatly desired at the club but insists its not an obsession.

Los Blancos have not won the famous trophy since 2002 despite years of copious spending on some of the world’s best players.

Rivals Barcelona have won the competition on three occasions since then and Sergio Ramos has revealed the desire to win is greater than with any other competition.

“It’s clearly a competition that’s very dear to the club, and it’s been a long time now since we held that title,” Ramos told FIFA.com. “I’m not sure it’s an obsession but the desire to win it is greater than for any other competition.

“I think it would be wrong though to let it become an obsession.”

Schalke will be Real Madrid’s next opponents in the Champions League round of 16 and Ramos is aware of the threat they pose.

“We need to just take it step by step, like we’ve done in recent years – reaching the semi-final and almost making the final. If we can go all the way, then even better, no?

“It’s tricky, but Real Madrid are obliged to fight till the death for that trophy.”

Carlo Ancelotti’s men are one point behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156

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The latest Deloitte Football Money League has been published, placing Real Madrid at the top as the highest-earning football club in the world on 2012-13.

Despite it being a trophy-less season for Los Blancos, it is the ninth year in a row they have been named as the world’s highest earning club by Deloitte. The nine-time European Cup winners made a total of €518.9 million over the course of the season, beating rivals Barcelona by €36.3m.

Premier League champions Manchester United, who had been the highest earners between 1996-97 and 2003-04, fell out of the top three for the first time since the report was introduced, replaced by German outfit Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giants had an outstanding campaign on the field last season, winning the domestic league and cup as well as the Champions League at Wembley in May.

In terms of year-on-year gains, French side PSG were the stand-out performers, leaping to 5th from 10th in the space of 12 months thanks to an 81% increase in revenue.  The signing of David Beckham for the second half of the season may have been one of the key factors in such an improvement.

Austin Houlihan, a senior consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said that while the two La Liga giants continued to dominate the money league as well, that could soon come to an end, with United having secured new commercial deals for example.

Speaking to Goal.com, Houlihan said: “Real Madrid still enjoy a healthy gap over Barcelona and have done over the past few years. The interesting thing, along with Barcelona being expected to accrue over €500m in revenue next year, is around Manchester United. If they continue to qualify for Europe, and with the Chevrolet sponsorship deal in 2014-15, then they have a real opportunity to challenge the top two.”

Deloitte’s report takes into account revenues from day-to-day football operations, including matchday ticket and corporate hospitality sales, broadcast rights revenues, sponsorship, merchandising, and other commercial operations. The figures do not include transfer dealings.

On the prospects for the Spanish clubs making more money in the coming months, Houlihan stated: “They are continuing to discuss a collective distribution model and the year they are working towards is 2015-16. What has happened in Serie A since 2010-11 is that they experienced an overall uplift in the overall value of collective deals compared to individual deals, so there are promising signs for Spain.”

CLUB

1. Real Madrid
2. Barcelona
3. Bayern Munich
4. Manchester Utd
5. Paris Saint-Germain
6. Manchester City
7. Chelsea
8. Arsenal
9. Juventus
10. AC Milan

12-13 REVENUE

€518.9m
€482.6m
€431.2m
€423.8m
€398.8m
€316.2m
€303.4m
€284.3m
€272.4m
€263.5m

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Iker Casillas lost his place in goal at Real Madrid almost a year ago under Jose Mourinho’s management, and things have barely changed since Carlo Ancelotti arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Italian has trusted Diego Lopez, although he’s been giving Casillas the chance to play in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

The debate on who should be the starting goalkeeper has generated so much noise, that Iker Casillas himself has admitted to be bored of it. Fans and journalists would probably never reach an agreement, but taking in account their performances and statistics so far this season, who do you think that should play?

Here’s an infographic that might help you choose between Iker Casillas and Diego Lopez:

Real Madrid infographic Casillas Lopez
Click on the image to see the infographic in full size.

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Iker Casillas has had quite enough of the rumours predicting his departure from Real Madrid.

This is not surprising, since he has faced questions about his future after almost every appearance he has made this season.

On Tuesday, he playfully told reporters that he is sick of all the speculation, according to a story in Marca.

“Please let’s stop talking about my situation because even I’m bored of it,” he was quoted as saying after the 1-0 Copa del Ray win over Espanyol. “The coach [Carlo Ancelotti] makes the decisions and people should enjoy watching whoever he picks.”

The 32-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Spanish capital due to a lack of consistent playing time, but he has dismissed these rumours on several occasions. He once again confirmed that he wishes to remain at the Bernabeu.

“Of course [I plan to stay at Real next season],” he said.

Premier League hopefuls Arsenal and Manchester City were both reported to have interest in the Spanish goalkeeper, who has struggled to usurp Diego Lopez and reclaim the top spot.

Casillas has not made a single appearance in La Liga in the 2013-14 season and instead has been limited to Copa del Ray and Champions League matches.

In his Tuesday interview, he said he is committed to helping Los Blancos in their pursuit of silverware.

“All I have to think about at the moment is that we’re in three competitions and that last year we had a really rough time, while this year we’re doing really well,” he said. “…”I always want to play, just like everyone, but you have to knuckle down, be happy and make the most of your chances.”

Also worth noting is that Casillas broke his own personal record for number of minutes without conceding a goal. After keeping a clean sheet with a fine save, he reached 592 consecutive scoreless minutes.

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Germany manager Joachim Loew has said he is hopeful he can count on Sami Khedira for the World Cup finals in June.

The Real Madrid midfielder tore his anterior cruciate ligament while playing in a friendly for his country against Italy last November. The 26-year-old was ruled out for the rest of the season, with the World Cup in Brazil a huge doubt too.

But Loew said in an interview with Bild that Khedira is making slow but good progress, and his recovery is on schedule.

“Three days ago, I talked to Sami on the phone. He feels fine, does light training on the treadmill, and has not suffered any setbacks,” Loew  was quoted as saying. He added: “All is fine, Sami is on schedule.”

The Germany boss has other injury concerns ahead of the finals with Bastian Schweinsteiger struggling with ankle problems throughout the campaign, and Real Madrid target Ilkay Gundogan not featuring for Borussia Dortmund since August because of a back problem.

Loew said that all his players would be given the chance to prove themselves once match fit before deciding on his squad, and there is no need to rush anyone back into action.

“There is no deadline. But naturally we’ll have to look at how the players are in form and how fit they are,” Loew said. “To call up a player for the World Cup, who has not played a competitive game, that would be difficult. I want every player to cover the full work load during our preparation for the Word Cup.”

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Madrid press report 23-01-2014

Madrid sports daily As publishes today an interview with Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, regarding the European Commission investigations on possible tax privileges for seven Spanish clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Reports had suggested the investigation began when the German club denounced this matter in the European Commission. But Rummenigge stated “we didn’t denounce them.”

“They meet the financial fair-play requirements, so I just have to congratulate them,” he told As. However, Rummenigge pointed out “Madrid and Barcelona get 150 million euros from television rights and we get 35.”

The Spanish daily also reports that Real Madrid home-grown player Juan Mata, now at Chelsea, is about to complete a 45-million-euros move to Manchester United.

Meanwhile, Spain’s most sold sports newspaper, Marca, publishes an special report about Luka Modric, explaining how Barcelona could have signed him years ago but they didn’t finally made the decision.

* Follow Real Madrid News on Twitter

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Reports in the UK press have suggested Real Madrid will make a 30 million euro move for Wayne Rooney in the summer.

The 28-year-old has 18 months on his deal at Manchester United, and while Old Trafford chiefs are keen for the striker to stay, he has so far not committed to signing a new contract. According to the Daily Telegraph, this has alerted the Madrid hierarchy, who see Rooney as being more attainable than Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero.

A move to the Santiago Bernabeu would see the England striker link up once more with Cristiano Ronaldo with whom he forged a devastating partnership during their time at Manchester United.

Los Blancos are keen to sign another striker to take the pressure of Karim Benzema and help Alvaro Morata and Jese Rodriguez develop in the first team squad. It has been known for a while that City forward Aguero is the number one choice, and the Argentine is believed to be keen on a return to Madrid, where he enjoyed a hugely successful spell at Atletico before his move to the Etihad Stadium.

Monaco forward, and another former Rojiblanco, Falcao is also a target for the nine-time European Cup winners when they make their moves in the market in the summer.

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Carlo Ancelotti has had a huge impact on the team spirit at Real Madrid, vice-captain Sergio Ramos has said.

The World Cup winning defender has played a key role in Madrid’s defence this season, and after a slow start to the campaign, Los Blancos are slowly moving through the gears. They have closed the gap at the top of La Liga to just one point, and also aiming for success in the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

Speaking to FIFA.com, Ramos said Italian manager Ancelotti has improved team spirit and morale since he arrived.

“He’s also been a player and has work the skin of a footballer, so for that reason, we have a lot of chemistry with him and he gets along really well with the squad,” he stated.

Ancelotti has achieved huge success in his managerial career. He won the Champions League and Seria A with AC Milan among other trophies, and has tasted success in England and France, winning both championships in the respective countries. And Ramos said having such a CV means the Real Madrid players have a huge amount of respect for the boss.

“He’s a manager who is envied for his footballing CV, for all that he’s won and for all he knows about football,” Ramos was quoted as saying.

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Up until Jose Mourinho arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu, Jorge Valdano had been one of Florentino Perez’s closest allies in his two periods as Real Madrid president. However, the bad relationship between the Portuguese and the Argentinian caused the club to dismiss Valdano.

That was not the first occasion the Argentinian was sacked from the club. This time 18 years ago, on January 21st 1996, Real fired Valdano for the first time.

Valdano was the manager back then. After having stood out for doing a great job as Tenerife’s boss, where his team beat Real in two successive years in matches that ensured Los Blancos could no longer win the league, he arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in 1994.

His first season as Los Merengues coach was successful, as Madrid won La Liga, ending Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona their four-year victory run.

Nevertheless, the following season things weren’t as good. The team struggled to find good shape in La Liga. Thus, after losing for the first time in the club’s history against Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu, the board of directors decided to dismiss Valdano.

After 22 league games, Real sat eighth in the table, with a 16-point difference with leaders Atletico Madrid.

“This is not the saddest night of my career, because I suffered hepatitis that stopped me from playing football. I don’t feel like that now, I don’t feel weak. I feel calm. This is not a failure, but an eventuality of life,” Valdano said.

“I would have never made this decision; it’s the toughest and most unpleasant. Now it’s difficult to know if we’re right or wrong, but we needed a wake-up call and the rope always breaks in the thinner side. It’s easier firing one than firing 25, and that’s what the board of directors decided,” president Lorenzo Sanz told the press.

Valdano’s dismissal didn’t help the team improve, as Real Madrid finished La Liga in sixth place, when only the first five would qualify for European competitions. They trailed champions Atletico Madrid by 17 points.

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Despite his fantastic start to the season, it may be some time before Real Madrid’s summer purchase Isco is seen regurlarly in first-team action again.

Manager of Los Blancos, Carlo Ancelotti, has recently adapted his 4-2-3-1 formation into a 4-3-3 which removes the position of a creative midfielder, giving Isco, who prefers to play in that number ten position, less chance to compete for a starting role.

The Italian says, however, that he believes Isco has the ability to play in other areas and the change may mean the young Spaniard is able to adapt himself to play a different role for the team.

“It is true that this change makes it more difficult for Isco, but he can play in Di María’s or Modric’s position as well. I have not forgotten about the old system [4-2-3-1] and we may still use it from time to time,” Ancelotti said.

He added: “The 4-3-3 system gives us more balance because the defensive job done by the three midfielders is very good and we will keep using this system.”

Isco has made 16 appearances in La Liga since his summer mover from Malaga, and will be aiming to impress national team coach Vicente Del Bosque in the second half of the season to improve his chances of making Spain’s 2014 World Cup squad.

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