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Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted he’s enjoying playing alongside Gareth Bale now that the Welshman is starting to become more settled and in tune with how his Galaticos teammates play.

Bale was signed for a fee of 91 million euros from Tottenham but struggled for game time in his first games in the Spanish capital due to a lack of fitness having missed large parts of pre-season with an ankle and then thigh injury.

However, despite a slow start meaning that Real are currently third behind rivals Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, Carlo Ancelotti’s men are starting to build up some momentum, winning  their last three league games, scoring 15 goals in the process, with Ronaldo scoring eight whilst Bale has netted two.

The Portuguese star said: “He [Bale] is a player that is starting to feel at home with us now. He is starting to play very well and the fact is I’m enjoying playing alongside him and with Karim [Benzema] as well and [Angel] Di Maria. We are all getting to know each other.”

Ronaldo now joins up with his national team Portugal for their crucial World Cup playoff match against Sweden, whilst Bale will be playing for Wales against Finland.

 

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Julien Alex Thomas Faubert’s signing is possibly one of the most incomprehensible transfers in the history of Real Madrid. The Frenchman arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in January 2009, on loan from West Ham, and from the very start his arrival was very controversial.

First of all, from a football perspective, both fans and press wondered what had Faubert done in his career to deserve a Real Madrid move, since he wasn’t even a guaranteed starter. In fact, it could be argued that his only merit in his professional life was being the first man to wear France’s number 10 after Zinedine Zidane retired.

Faubert’s signing was so embarrassing for Los Blancos, that no one inside the club took responsibility for it. The manager Juande Ramos, the sports director Pedja Mijatovic and the president Vicente Boluda publicly denied having something to do in the Frenchman’s signing. Something that made the doubts over Faubert’s performance grow even more.

The midfielder made his debut in a La Liga match against Racing Santander at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Frenchman came off the bench in the second half and Juande Ramos defined his performance as “dull”. That was a clear statement of intent from the Spaniard, who only gave Faubert 54 more minutes of play until the end of the season.

That made Faubert angry, as he showed in an interview with L’Equipe: “It is hard to live this. I don’t even know why I’m not playing. Nobody has explained it to me.” The fact that he was slightly overweight and his party lifestyle may better explain his lack of play minutes.

In fact, Faubert left a number of anecdotes in his short stay at Madrid. One Sunday he didn’t show up for training because he thought Juande Ramos has given the team a day off. “The boy made a mistake, that’s all, he knows there’s a club discipline to obey,” Sergio Ramos excused him.

Another funny situation he’s remembered by took place at El Madrigal in a match against Villarreal. Despite the fact that Los Blancos had to win that game in order to prevent Barcelona from winning the league title, Faubert didn’t care much about it and the TV cameras caught him sleeping on the bench.

Julien Faubert is still playing

With these precedents, nobody was surprised when Real Madrid decided not to keep him at the end of the season. That’s why the Frenchman returned to West Ham, where he spent two seasons, one of them playing in the Championship and being a regular starter.

Last season he moved to Turkish Elazigspor. However, despite having many appearances, he didn’t adapt to Turkish life and decided to leave in the winter. Last January he signed for Girondins de Bordeaux after a trial period. He’s still there, although the manager doesn’t count on him. This season he’s had seven appearances in the Ligue 1 and the Europa League, four of them coming in from the bench.

Yet, that is still more minutes of play than what he had at Real Madrid, a club from which Julien Faubert keeps good memories despite of all: “For me, playing at Real Madrid was a great experience, but that has passed and I have moved on. It wasn’t a sad time, although there were tough moments, but that helped me come back stronger.”

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Real Madrid will be offering Portuguese defenders Fabio Coentrao and Pepe new contracts in the near future say Spanish paper AS.

This will come as a surprise to Coentrao, who in the summer was deemed surplus to requirements at the Santiago Bernabeu, and saw a move to Manchester United fall through on transfer deadline day to the devastation of the player himself.

The left back had been attracting interest from various clubs, especially Tottenham, who are believed to be mulling over a loan bid for the player in January.

Central defender Pepe had a falling out with former Real manager Jose Mourinho last season after losing his place to young French centre-back Raphael Varane, but Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is believed to be extremely impressed with the player’s recent form.

Both players share an agent in Jorge Mendes – one of the most influential agents in world football, with clients including Mourinho, Real’s own Cristiano Ronaldo and Monaco’s Radamel Falcao – who is in talks with Los Blancos officials over the new deals.

The pair are likely to both start for their country this Friday in the first leg of Portugal’s huge World Cup play-off tie against Sweden as they hope to seal their place in Brazil next summer.

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Real Madrid press report 13-11-13

Spain’s most sold newspaper, Marca, claims today that Real Madrid will offer Pepe a salary rise. The Portuguese defender, who is earning around four million euros a year, will receive a one million rise, according to the Madrid daily.

Marca also reports that former Real Madrid defender and assistant coach Aitor Karanka has signed as new Middlesbrough manager. The other main Madrid sports paper, As, also brings this news to its front page, pointing out “Boro is 16th in the British second division and Karanka has signed for two and a half years.”

As main focus in their front page is about the fight for the Ballon d’Or. The newspaper claims that this week could be decisive for Frank Ribery and Cristiano Ronaldo to earn the award, since they are both playing the qualifier for the 2014 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Marca emphasizes the fight between Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic: “Only one will be in the World Cup,” they title. “Only two days left for the clash between Portugal and Sweden and Cristiano started training in the gym yesterday,” they report.

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With the January transfer market fast approaching, Real Madrid’s most prominent up-and-coming star, Jese Rodriguez, has garnered the attention of West Ham United and is rumoured to be on the fast track for a loan to Upton Park.

According to the Daily Star, West Ham manager Sam Allardyce’s interest in the 20-year-old striker is part of a strategy to improve the East London club’s poor goalscoring performance so far this season, having scored just nine goals in 11 Premier League matches.

A potential loan deal with Real Madrid for Jese would also fit the bill from a cash standpoint, as Allardyce spent West Ham’s transfer budget during the summer to bring in Razvan Rat, Stewart Downing and the record-breaking signing of Andy Carroll from Liverpool for 20 million euros. The latter has disappointingly not played with the Hammers so far this season due to a heel injury, but could potentially make a comeback before the Christmas break, meaning Jese would have competition for the centre-forward position, should the loan deal go through.

The Canary Islands-born canterano joined Real Madrid’s youth system in 2007, aged 14, and over the past six years has gained a reputation as a reliable goalscorer, having broken the record for most goals in a season by a Real Madrid B player with 22 last season. Furthermore, Jese holds international youth accolades as top goalscorer in the 2012 UEFA U19 Championship for Spain, along with a winners medal from the tournament, and the Bronze Shoe from the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup.

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Spanish journalist Enrique Marques has claimed that Xabi Alonso has asked Real Madrid for a pay rise and a contract length of more than one year in order to reach an agreement to stay at the club.

The Basque midfielder’s contract expires at the end of the season, and he was expected to end his time at Santiago Bernabeu, especially if Ilkay Gundogan finally arrives next summer.

However, his good performances since he returned from injury a couple of weeks ago might have convinced Los Blancos’ directors to keep him.

“Alonso earns four million euros a year at the moment, and Real are ready to offer him more than five. Plus, the player is looking for a contract extension for more than 12 months, and the club is also willing to give him that,” Marques stated.

“However, Xabi wants to wait to see how his recovery develops, in order to decide whether he will sign a renewal or not. Right now, he is excited about staying, but that could change.

“Alonso and Florentino Perez have a close relationship. They have talked and Perez has told the player he can sign the renewal whenever he wants,” Marques concluded.

In the case Alonso decides to leave, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus, Milan or Fiorentina could be his next destination, as they’re all keeping an eye on him.

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Arsenal boss Arsenal Wenger is ready to splash the cash by offering 35 million euros for Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema, according to reports.

The Gunners manager, who has been in charge at the club for 17 years, has long eyed his compatriot as the answer to his striker problems and to ease the burden on Oliver Giroud.

There was much talk about a transfer in the summer but following Benzema’s upturn in form at the Santiago Bernabeu after a slow start to the campaign, the rumours had died down. But press reports in the UK suggest Wenger will part will a heft sum of cash to land the 25-year-old.

If the deal does go through in January, Benzema will become the second major name to join the Emirates Stadium side this campaign following in the footsteps of German star Mesut Ozil. Benzema has scored six goals to date this season for Los Merengues.

According to the Express newspaper, Los Blancos will entertain offers for Benzema as a way to free up funds for another attempt to lure Luis Suarez to the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Real Madrid forward Crisitiano Ronaldo is close to breaking Hugo Sanchez’s scoring record with Los Blancos.

The 28-year-old is on 163 goals in 143 La Liga matches, while the Mexican’s record is just one goal away on 164 goals with considerably more game time.

The Portuguese international, who scored a hat trick at the weekend against Real Sociedad, will become the club’s fourth highest goal scorer once he surpasses Sanchez, with Santillana (186), Di Stéfano (216), and Raúl (228) ahead of him.

Cristiano Ronaldo also has the chance of becoming his country’s all-time top goal scorer with the international break providing him with a perfect outlet.

Portugal face a double-billing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden, as both countries battle it out for a place in the World Cup.

The Real Madrid talisman is now four goals behind Pauleta’s record total of 47 having left the legendary Eusebio in his wake some time ago.

Ronaldo joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in a 96 million euro deal in the summer of 2009 and recently signed a new long-term deal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156

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Manchester United boss David Moyes is claimed to be targeting a pair of Real Madrid stars to fortify his team according to the Daily Star.

The Scottish manager wants to acquire Sami Khedira to reinforce his midfield. Over the summer, he failed to sign Khedira despite having the German on his radar for months. During the Real Madrid vs Sevilla match, when Los Merengues beat Sevilla 7-3, Moyes sent Phil Neville, assistant coach, to observe the midfielder.

Although Moyes obtained the services of Marouane Fellaini from his former club Everton, he has struggled to make a significant impact in his team. His holding midfield role substantially has diminished the Belgian’s attacking capability. A move for Khedira would be advantageous in using the ex-Toffee in a advanced position.

Moyes is also eyeing Angel Di Maria, Argentine winger, who is allegedly attainable for 18 million euros. Utd’s interest in the Real attacker has been prompted following the below par displays shown by Nani, Ashley Young and Luis Antonio Valencia so far this season.

The 25-year-old  Merengue starting the season ahead of 91 million euro signing Gareth Bale in the Spanish league but has only played one of Real Madrid’s last four fixtures.

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Real Madrid press report 12-11-13

Both Madrid sports newspapers claim today in their front pages that Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the Ballon d’Or 2013.

Marca’s main headline is simply: “He deserves it.” The Spanish daily states “no other player has beaten his performances and his statistics in 2013.”

Yet, Marca highlights “Frank Ribery is the favourite in betting websites thanks to the titles he has won this year.”

Meanwhile, As titles “Britain would give Ronaldo the Ballon d’Or,” pointing out that a poll conducted by Sky Sports showed 84 per cent of participants picked the Portuguese, while only 8 per cent chose Leo Messi.

Speaking about the Argentinian, As reports the injury he suffered against Betis on Sunday will keep him out for two months, what could benefit Real Madrid in shortening Barcelona’s lead in La Liga.

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