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Arsenal are set to shattered their club transfer record by offering 30 million euros for Angel di Maria, it has been reported.

Metro claimed Arsenal want to secure the Real Madrid winger, whose first team opportunities may be limited at the Santiago Bernabeu when Gareth Bale completes his move from Tottenham Hotspur.

Spanish daily Marca also reported on the potential transfer of the Argentinean, and said club officials were happy to let go of the 25-year-old.

The main issue that stands in the way is the player himself, who is believed to want to stay and fight for his place in the team.

But with the World Cup coming up in less than 12 months time, di Maria will want to be playing regular football to ensure his place in the squad to head to Brazil.

The winger, now in his fourth year at the Bernabeu, has provided 53 assists in 138 games, scoring 25 goals along the way too.

Arsenal have been criticised by the media in the UK for their lack of spending, but appear to be ready to land some of the top targets to reinforce the squad before the transfer window closes.

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Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski has revealed he has turned down moves to Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Chelsea in the past 12 months.

The Poland international has scored 78 times in 144 games for Jurgen Klopp’s side since his arrival three years ago. His most noteworthy performance perhaps was the first leg of the Champions League semi final last season in which he scored four goals against Los Blancos.

According to Sky Sports, the 25-year-old received a text message from former Real manager Jose Mourinho afterwards, inviting him to join whatever team he ended up at this summer.

Lewandowski, who is expected to join Bayern Munich when his contract expires in a year, also said he spoke briefly to Florentino Perez.

“It was in the office near the dressing room at the Bernabeu straight after the match. We spoke to each other briefly and let’s just say we spoke. I didn’t say ‘no’. I was mostly listening to Mr Perez,” he stated.
He added that he spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson before the Scot retired at the end of last season, but that decision had no bearing on him not joining the Red Devils.

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Barcelona manager Tata Martino has slammed Real Madrid for being disrespectful to the world’s delicate financial situation with their 100 million euro bid to land Gareth Bale.

The newly installed boss at the Camp Now claimed Los Blancos were forgetting a lot of people around the world were struggling to make ends meet amidst the tough economic climate engulfing many of the world’s economies.

And he urged the La Liga giants, as well as other clubs going on huge spending sprees to be more conscious of what is going on around them.

“He’s a very good player, but the numbers seem to me almost a lack of respect for the world in general,” the Barca boss said.

Real are expected to announce the signing of Bale early next week – and preparations are already underway at the Bernabeu after pictures emerged of a platform being built for the Welsh winger to be presented to the fans.

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The wait is nearly over and one of the longest running transfer sagas appears to be reaching a conclusion. Gareth Bale is in Spain – and Marbella to be exact – waiting for final confirmation of his proposed move to Real Madrid.

Both Marca and AS have images of the Tottenham Hotspur winger sunbathing in Marbella, where his agent has a home, before he heads to Madrid to complete the deal.

Currently Madrid and Spurs are still locked in talks about the transfer. Los Blancos have offered two options  – the first being a fee of around 99 million euros to be paid in four installments, the second being a one of payment of around 80 million euros.

Elsewhere, the keeper debate still goes on, but Marca claims Iker Casillas and Diego Lopez are tired of the constant talk and media speculation about their relationship, and that with the club and its fans.

In good news for the team, Asier Illarramendi has resumed full training as he looks to get his place in the team – to cover the injured Xabi Alonso.

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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema will not be joining Arsenal before the end of the transfer window, according to his agent.

The French forward has been linked with the Gunners in recent days as Arsene Wenger looks to bolster his squad for the season.

And it was believed Los Blancos would be willing to part with Benzema should they succeed in their attempts to sign Luis Suarez from Liverpool.

But according to Karim Djaziri, the 25-year-old attacker, who signed from Lyon four years ago, will not be going anywhere.

Speaking to Le Journal du Dimanche, he said: “We can not fight against the rumours, but I assure you Karim will not go to Arsenal. There has never been any discussions and no contact has been established.”

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The Collins Column

Last Sunday evening, Real Madrid kicked off the season with a 2-1 win over Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to a last gasp winner by summer signing Isco.

Odd as it sounds, that 86th minute goal saved Real’s season and kept the La Liga hopes alive before it was even 90 minutes old. A couple of hours before, Barcelona had demolished Levante 7-0 – sending out a statement of intent for things to come this season.

In amidst the jubilation of a debut goal for Isco, a first win under the Carlo Ancelotti era, and with the prospect of Gareth Bale to add to the team, the players spoke after the game of the importance of getting the three points on the board. Indeed, match winner Isco described the goal and three points as ‘fundamental’.

And he was right. You see, in the race for La Liga, there is very little room for manoeuvre. Much less so compared to other top European leagues. In the last four years, the winner of La Liga has achieved between 96 and 100 points out of a possible 114. In other words, the maximum amount of points dropped was 18 in a title-winning campaign.

Compare that to England in the same time, where the winner of the past four Premier League titles has achieved 89, 86,80,and 86 point respectively.

Last year under Jose Mourinho, Los Blancos were defending champions, but within a month of the season starting, had already blown their hopes of winning the title again thanks to costly draws against the lower La Liga sides.

Realistically, just Barcelona and Real Madrid have a hope of winning the league. Perhaps Atletico de Madrid and Valencia if they have extraordinary campaigns. Critics suggest the annual two-horse race means La Liga isn’t as attractive or competitive as it could be.

But situation for the players at Real and Barcelona means they have the pressure to win every single weekend. Dropping points too soon could be curtains for the title effort. Dealing with that pressure to win every match is what makes La Liga so exciting.

Attention now turns to the game with Granada this weekend – another vital match if Madrid have hope of reclaiming their crown.

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Granada attacker Youssef El Arabi has said he hopes Cristiano Ronaldo scores another own goal when Real Madrid visit on Monday evening.

The Portuguese forward, who has scored 201 goals in 200 games for Los Blancos since his move from Manchester United in 2009, found his own net the last time the two teams met in La Liga at los Carmenes in February.

The own goal, a stunning header from a corner, all be ended Real’s faint hopes of overhauling Barcelona in La Liga last year as Granada held on to a famous 1-0 win.

And El Arabi is hoping history repeats itself if Granada are to have a chance of getting the three points.

“I hope that Cristiano Ronaldo scores another own goal,” the Morocco international told AS.

“Real Madrid are a great team and they have a lot of strong individual players,” he added.

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Former Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman has said Gareth Bale must make the effort to adapt to life in Spain if he is to be a success at the club.

The Liverpudlian, who famously scored for Los Blancos in the European Cup final against Valencia, was a huge success in Spain and is remembered fondly by Madridistas.

Now a pundit on television, McManaman said his success was largely down to breaking free of the goldfish bowl the players live in, and forcing himself to learn Spanish and get used to the culture.

And he stated Gareth Bale will have to do the same eventually.

He said: “We had a driver who took us everywhere, translated for us and did everything we needed. But Victoria, my girlfriend at the time and now my wife, and I felt we had no time to ourselves. So we decided that for the time in Spain to work we had to break free from all the attention.”

McManaman added that while there were times they found the experience frustrating, such as when they were in restaurants ‘flapping our arms to try to explain to the waiter that we wanted chicken,’ they wouldn’t change anything they did in their attempts to integrate.

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The stage is set, literally, for Gareth Bale’s arrival at Real Madrid. While Los Blancos and Tottenham Hotspur iron out the final details of the world record deal, staff at the Santiago Bernabeu have been busy erecting the stage on which Bale will be presented.

AS has the pictures on its front page, showing everything is in place for the player’s arrival in the Spanish capital. Some expected the deal to be announced on Friday, but other reports suggest it has been put on hold after Chelsea hijacked Spurs’ deal to sign Willian – the intended replacement for Bale. Whatever the case, it is clear Los Blancos are ready.

Elsewhere, the keeper debate rages on, with Marca opting for the subject on its front page. The paper says both Iker Casillas and Diego Lopez have found the Santiago Bernabeu crowd difficult to deal with, after they received boos and whistles from fans.

Marca carries quotes from Gonzalo Higuain, sold to Napoli in the summer, saying that Carlo Ancelotti tried his best to convince him to stay in Madrid. The Italian saw the 26-year-old as an important part of the team, but Higuain said he was more excited by the prospect of a new challenge elsewhere and the importance of the project underway at Rafa Benitez’s new team.

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Real Madrid legend Raul says Los Blancos goalkeeper will bounce back and regain his place in the team.

Casillas lost his place to Diego Lopez last season after a falling out with previous manager Jose Mourinho.

The Spain captain, who has won five La Liga titles and two European Cups in his 14 years as a Real Madrid player, was expected to win his place back in the side this year.

But new manager Carlo Ancelotti opted to stick with Lopez in the team’s first match of the campaign against Real Betis – leading to speculation that Casillas may look to leave the club.

But speaking after the Trofeo Bernabeu on Thursday night in which Raul made an emotional return to the place he enjoyed so much success, he backed the World Cup winning captain.

He said: “Iker is a great professional and team-mate and is experiencing something new. But with hard work and effort he will be back helping Real Madrid to achieve their objectives.”

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