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Reports have suggested Real Madrid have turned down the opportunity to sign Radamel Falcao from AS Monaco.

The Colombian forward, who only joined the French side from Real’s city rivals Atletico de Madrid this summer, is reportedly available for transfer because of a tax issue.

Madrid-based daily, Marca, claimed 27-year-old Falcao is upset that a tax issue that has arisen in France means he will have to take a 50% cut in his wages.

He made the switch to Monaco for 50 million euros, and the Ligue 1 side would look to recoup that outlay should the decision be made to sell.

Other clubs interested in the striker could be Chelsea and Manchester United.

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Summer signing Isco scored an 86th minute winner for Real Madrid against Real Betis to get Carlo Ancelotti’s reign off to a start with three points in La Liga.

There was much anticipation and excitement prior to kick off after Los Blancos secured their signings early, appointed two-time Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti, and went unbeaten in pre-season.

Italian boss Ancelotti provided few surprises in his team selection other than the goalkeeping position. Diego Lopez started in goal ahead of Iker Casillas, meaning the World Cup winner hasn’t started a competitive fixture for Madrid in almost eight months.

Having watched title rivals Barcelona demolish Levante 7-0 earlier on, the nine-time European Cup winners couldn’t have made a worse start to their campaign when the fell behind. Jorge Molina latched onto a pass from Cedric to put the visitors ahead, much to the delight of the returning Pepe Mel – the former youth team player at Madrid  now in charge of Betis.

Los Blancos slowly grew into the game however and began to create more chances. Their patience was rewarded when French striker Karim Benzema ran onto a lovely through ball from Isco to slot home with his left foot across the goal.

Isco, a 30 million euro signing from Malaga was the creative force and was always positive when in possession of the ball.

In the second half, Los Blancos dominated proceedings but were met with a resolute and determined Betis defence. That was until the 86th minute when Marcelo provided an inch-perfect cross to Isco to head home to secure the win.

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After many pre-season tests, Carlo Ancelotti will start his reign at Real Madrid with a La Liga match home against Betis. The Italian manager will finally reveal his preferences for the starting eleven, as the arrival of new players this summer has created more competition for places within the squad.

The good performance of Casemiro, Carvajal and Diego Lopez in the pre-season has made the Italian think about whether to include them among the starters or keep Khedira, Arbeloa and Casillas in the team.

Raphael Varane, Asier Illarramendi and Xabi Alonso have been ruled out due to injuries, and that has left a spot among the starters for Pepe and Luka Modric.

Real are unbeaten this summer and have played an attractive style of football, which they hope to maintain in their first game at Santiago Bernabeu under Ancelotti’s reign.

Betis also start a new era, after the departure of their best player, Benat Etxebarria, to Athletic Bilbao.  Promising Nigerian playmaker Nosa Igiebor and new signing Joan Verdu will take Benat’s role.

The Andalucians have lost the last two games of their pre-season, against Everton and Hull City, and they are not very confident about their game.

Betis manager Pepe Mel and right-back Juanfran will return to the place where they started, as they both grew up playing in Real Madrid youth teams.

Probable line ups:

Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro; Ronaldo, Isco, Ozil; Benzema.
Betis: Andersen; Chica, Perquis, Paulao, Nacho; Matilla, Nosa; Cedric, Verdu, Juanfran; Molina.

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Real Madrid left back Fabio Coentrao has formally asked to leave the club, it has been confirmed.

The Portuguese defender, who signed for Los Blancos from Benfica in 2011 has become concerned about his lack of first team football after losing his place in the side to Brazilian international Marcelo.

Coentrao has been linked with a moved back to his former club this summer, as well as with moves to either Chelsea, where he would link up again with Jose Mourinho, or to Tottenham Hotspur – as part of the deal to take Gareth Bale to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of Madrid’s first match of the season against Real Betis, manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed he had received the transfer request from Coentrao.

He said: “Coentrão has requested to leave, so he will not play. The rest of the players are happy to be here.”

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Luka Modric cheating on wife

Real Madrid player Luka Modric has recently appeared on the covers of Croatian newspapers as he was caught in the arms of a beautiful lady who is not his wife.

During Los Blancos tour in the United States, Modric was photographed in a number of different positions with Diana Gudic, a young blonde Croatian who has been reported to be a friend of Paris Hilton.

Modric has been criticised by Croatian press as he is married to Vanja Modric and they have three children.

Although the photographs don’t reveal an evident infidelity, Croatian press are wondering why Modric was caught short in such a manner and what does his wife think about it.

I’m pretty sure she won’t be very pleased, and probably neither Real Madrid directors, as the player appears in one of the pictures smoking a cigar as seen above.

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Real Madrid kick off the new season tonight at home to Real Betis and the pre-match build up dominates the local press this morning.

Much of the talk is about Madrid’s attractive style of football played throughout pre-season in which they remained unbeaten and the new signings bedded in well into the first team squad.

In a press briefing ahead of the match, Carlo Ancelotti told reporters his only doubt was over who to name as the number one goalkeeper. Iker Casillas lost his place to Diego Lopez last season and never regained it after having a massive falling out with Jose Mourinho. Many expected him to walk back into the team this year, but Lopez has continued his impressive form between the sticks.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo reaches a personal milestone tonight – his 200th game for Los Blancos. The Portuguese star signed from Manchester United four years ago and has already scored 201 goals for the Santiago Bernabeu side.

 

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said winning the Champions League is his main goal this season.

On the eve of a new campaign, the Italian said winning Europe’s top prize is something Los Blancos should be aiming to do on a regular basis and that not appearing in the final in more than a decade is not good enough for a club of its stature.

Speaking to Italian paper Corriere dello Sport, Ancelotti, who has won two European Cups as a manager already with AC Milan, said: “Everybody at Madrid is focused on winning the European Cup. It’s the main objective for all Madridistas.”

“Real Madrid have not made it into the final of the Champions League since 2002 and that’s amazing when you think about it. I think it’s been too long for a club of Madrid’s stature,” he added.

With a new style of play in pre-season compared to the Mourinho regime, Ancelotti rejected claims he is trying to copy Barcelona’s tiki-taka passing style.

“Madrid have different players with their own style. We aim to play attacking football and bring spectacle to the stadiums. We have some excellent players,” he said.

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas turned down the opportunity to manage Real Madrid this summer, he has revealed.

The Portuguese manager, who won the treble with Porto, was linked with the switch from White Hart Lane following the departure of Jose Mourinho.

But the 35-year-old boss said he wanted to stay in North London for another year – the first time in his managerial career he’ll be at the same club for more than a season.

Following his success with Porto he was appointed as Chelsea manager but only lasted a few eight months before being given the sack and taking over at Spurs last year.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Villas-Boas stated:”I have great respect for the club and for Daniel Levy. These are the reasons that, when a couple of clubs came knocking, I told them I wasn’t interested.”

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Summer signing Isco has said he would be delighted if Real Madrid signed Gareth Bale as it would give Carlo Ancelotti a nice selection problem to solve.

The 30 million euro arrival from Malaga has impressed everyone at the club, something that is said to have given Florentino Perez second thoughts about making a world-record bid to sign Welsh winger Bale.

Los Blancos have been linked with a deal of 100 million euros for 24-year-old Bale, made up of cash instalments plus players such as Fabio Coentrao moving in the other direction.

Speaking after training on Friday and the team’s Valdebebas base, Isco said he was not worried about the impact the signing Bale would have on his own place in the starting 11.

He stated: “He is a great player. If he comes it would be a blessed problem for the boss. If he arrives I would have to welcome him, like all other new players.”

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Real Madrid have revealed the shirt numbers each player will wear for the coming campaign – with the big talking point being the number 11 kept free.

Speculation has suggested all summer long that Tottenham Hostpur winger Gareth Bale will sign for Los Blancos, and the revelation that the number 11 is still free at Real Madrid has sent the conspiracy theorists into overdrive, with many expecting his imminent arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The last person to wear the number 11 for Real Madrid was of course Ricardo Carvalho, who left the club earlier on this summer to join French side Monaco.

New signing Isco has been given the number 23 shirt, while Asier Illarramendi will wear 24. Casemiro, who turned his loan move into a permanent one this summer will sport the number 16, and Daniel Carvajal, who rejoined the club following a year playing in Germany will wear number 15.

Here is the full squad list:

    1. Iker Casillas
    2. Raphäel Varane
    3. Pepe
    4. Sergio Ramos
    5. Fàbio Coentrao
    6. Sami Khedira
    7. Cristiano Ronaldo
    8. Kaka’
    9. Karim Benzema
    10. Mesut Özil
    11. ???
    12. Marcelo
    13. Jesús Fernández
    14. Xabi Alonso
    15. Daniel Carvajal
    16. Casemiro
    17. Álvaro Arbeloa
    18. Nacho Fernández
    19. Luka Modric
    20. Jesé Rodríguez
    21. Álvaro Morata
    22. Ángel Di María
    23. Isco Alarcón
    24. Asier Illarramendi
    25. Diego López
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