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Real Madrid assistant manager Paul Clement has promised he’ll do all he can to help Gareth Bale settle at the club following his recent transfer.

The Welshman made a goalscoring debut on Saturday evening, but is still getting to know his new surroundings and new team mates, and all in a new language and culture.

Prior to his move, former Real players who made the switch to the Santiago Bernabeu from the UK – Steve McManaman, Michael Owen, and Jonathan Woodgate – all said the biggest challenge facing Bale is adapting to the Spanish way of life.

And Clement said he will support Bale as he settles in at the club.

The former PSG assistant boss, who helped David Beckham settle in Paris, said: “It’s a similar scenario. I had a really good relationship with David, mostly because we were two Englishmen in Paris. He could always lean on me.

“Gareth and I can develop the same kind of professional relationship here and help each other. I’ve been speaking to him at training over set-plays and tactical organisation, things he might not understand straight away because all those drills are done in Spanish.”

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Iker Casillas’ girlfriend Sara Carbonero reappeared at a public event for the first time after announcing her pregnancy. It was at the presentation of the new Women’Secret campaign, which she will promote in Spain.

Carbonero dressed very cleverly, with black trousers and blouse, but her pregnancy belly already started to show. She announced that she will be the face of this year’s advertising campaign of the female underwear firm.

Asked about the baby, Casillas’ girlfriend confirmed they are going to have a boy. “We’re both very happy. We just want him to be healthy”, she told the press.

Carbonero didn’t want to reveal if her pregnancy was a surprise for her and Casillas. “It’s good news, and I assimilated it nicely because it makes me happy”, she said.

The Spanish journalist admitted she’s in the 24th week, so the baby will arrive in December, a date in which Casillas could move from Real Madrid to Manchester United according to the latest reports.

Asked about the future, she was prudent: “That’s something that I would like to know too. I hope I can combine maternity and work”. In addition, Carbonero confirmed that they want their baby to be born in Madrid.

Sara didn’t want to make further comments about his partner’s situation at Real Madrid. To conclude, she affirmed that they haven’t decided about the baby’s name as they are considering “different options”.

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Sami Khedira is willing to follow Mesut Ozil’s steps and move to Arsenal, according to Bristish newspaper Sunday Mirror.

The German midfielder is reportedly unhappy since Carlo Ancelotti’s arrival, and he would be open to a winter market transfer.

With the signings of Asier Illarramendi and Casemiro, Khedira will not have all the playing minutes he would desire this season.

Moreover, according to Sunday Mirror, Khedira thinks Ancelotti’s game style doesn’t fit him, so he would agree joining his friend Ozil if an offer arrives in January.

Real Madrid reportedly received a 40 million euro bid for Khedira from a Premier League side in August, but they turned it down.

* Read more Real Madrid transfer news

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has had his say on why Mesut Ozil was allowed to leave the club – claiming it was the German’s decision.

Much has been said about the 50 million euro deal to Arsenal, with the 24-year-old saying he felt undervalued at the Santiago Bernabeu, while club president Florentino Perez and assistant boss Zinedine Zidane both questioned the player’s professionalism.

At his unveiling as an Arsenal player, Ozil said it took one phone call from manager Arsene Wenger to convince him to join the north London side.

Madrid- based daily AS has quotes from Ancelotti about the deal, with everyone else having had they say already.

The Italian is quoted as saying: “Many people have talked about this issue and now I will. He has spoken about a lack of confidence over three games, two of which he started. No-one leaves Real Madrid unless they want to.

“With Isco and Bale arriving, he realised he was going to have a lot of competition for a place and asked to leave. The board decided that he could leave if the right offer came in. I wish him luck.”

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Madrid sports newspaper As claims this morning in its front page that Cristiano Ronaldo has become the world’s best paid football player after signing his contract renewal with Real Madrid.

“He has signed until 2018 for 21 million euros a year”, they state. As main headline is a sentence by Cristiano Ronaldo: “I’m staying because Real Madrid is the top of football”.

Marca also argues that Ronaldo becomes the best paid footballer in the world. However, they claim that he will make 17 million euros per season.

“A 371-day-long melodrama ends with the signing of the Portuguese contract’s extension until 2018”, they title.

Marca highlights Florentino Perez words, who said that Ronaldo “will be a Madridista forever”.

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Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa will be included in the squad to face Galatasaray in Los Blancos’ opening fixture in the Champions League group stages after missing the match against Villarreal through injury.

The defender’s return will be a boost for manager Carlo Ancelotti, who is still without Fabio Coentrao and Raphael Varane.

Arbeloa picked up a knock in international duty last week that saw him miss the 2-2 draw at El Madrigal on Saturday evening. But he was training as normal with the rest of the first team squad on Sunday morning as they began their preparations for the trip to Istanbul.

Ancelotti held two closed-door sessions on Sunday, one of which included all of those who were on the bench in Villarreal, as well as Arbeloa and young forward Jese Rodruiguez.

Coentrao and Varane trained seperately as they continue to make their recovery from injury, with the 20-year-old Frenchman beginning ball work again following a lengthy lay-off.

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Real Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi has expressed his delight at making his official debut for the club in the 2-2 draw with Villarreal.

The 21-year-old summer signing from Real Sociedad had been sidelined from the start of the season but played just over an hour at El Madrigal.

Afterwards, the 38 million euro signing said he was happy to finally pull on the famous white shirt and added he was keen to push on this season and help Madrid become a successful outfit on all fronts.

He told the official club website: “I haven’t played for a while and it was clear I’m lacking that spark, but I’ll gain the rhythm of the training sessions and the matches. I’m very happy to make my debut and excited about the rest of the season.”

Asked how he felt being injured shortly after arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu, Illarramendi admitted it was a frustrating start to his Real Madrid career.

“It was tough when I got injured. I came and two weeks later I was injured. I’ve been out for two months and now that I’m back I’m very happy. When you’re a Real Madrid player you have to aspire to everything. Competition improves the team and that’s a good thing,” he stated.

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Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new deal at the club – ending any hope Manchester United had that he would one day return to Old Trafford.

The Spanish giants did not reveal details of the contract extension, which the Portuguese signed alongside club president Florentino Perez at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But media reports suggest the 28-year-old forward will become the world’s highest paid footballer on a salary of 17 million euros a year after tax, which does not include bonuses.

In comparison, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi earns 16 million euros per year, while Los Blancos’ most recent signing, Gareth Bale, is on a salary of 10 million euros a year.

Reports had suggest the Red Devils were keen on taking Ronaldo back to Manchester, particularly after the player admitted last year that he was unhappy and felt unloved in Madrid.

But the new deal, which runs until 2018, puts an end to that speculation and also ends uncertainty as to who is the top dog at the Santiago Bernabeu following the arrival of Bale in a 91 million euro deal from Tottenham Hotspur.

Ronaldo has scored 203 goals in 203 games for Real Madrid since his arrival in 2009, his last one coming last night in his side’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal in La Liga.

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Manchester United manager David Moyes has refused to deny claims he made a last ditch bid to buy Gareth Bale before he agreed a move to Real Madrid.

Los Blancos signed the 24-year-old Welshman in a 91 million euro deal at the start of this month from Tottenham Hotspur, but there were reports another team was attempting to hijack the transfer at the last minute.

Reports in French sports paper L’Equipe revealed the other team as being the Premier League champions, and when Moyes was asked about the bid following his side’s win over Crystal Palace, he refused to be drawn on giving an answer.

“I wouldn’t confirm anything, the window has now closed,” he said, before adding “I have said many times we are always bidding for the best players.”

L’Equipe said the Red Devils were prepared to pay up to 150 million euros for Bale, an offer that was rejected by Spurs chairman Daniel Levey.

And in Carlo Ancelotti’s press conference on Friday, he suggested another team was bidding more for the player, but Bale’s desire to play at the Santiago Bernabeu ensured the transfer happened.

“I know that Tottenham had a higher bid than Real Madrid for Gareth Bale, but he wanted to play here and that’s what made the difference,” he stated.

 

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said his team could have claimed the victory against Villarreal in La Liga but was happy to see his team pick up a point following the 2-2 draw at El Madrigal.

Los Blancos conceded an early goal but strikes from debutant Gareth Bale and another by Cristiano Ronaldo put the visitors ahead, only for Geovani dos Santos to equalise with 20 minutes remaining.

Speaking to journalists after the game, Ancelotti said his team lost focus when they were leading 2-1 and should have closed out the game, but added that the hosts were well-deserving of a share of the spoils.

“It was a difficult match. I don’t think that was the worst that we have played. We scored two goals and if we had paid a little bit more attention we could have won but it’s a fair result because Villarreal played well. They are a good team,” he said.

Ancelotti also had words of praise for Bale, a 91 million summer signing, and Diego Lopez, who continues to be picked ahead of club captain Iker Casillas.

On Bale, the Italian stated: “I think he’s happy to score his first goal for Real Madrid. He played in a difficult match and he played well, showing his good attitude. It was a hard match for everyone.”

And on Lopez he said: “He played well, he was very active and was always ready. I don’t know if he saved us from losing. I think if we had paid a little more attention we could have won, since at 1-2 we found it easy.”

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