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Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad La Liga preview

La Liga may be decided already with Barcelona already being crowned champions, but there is still plenty to fight for elsewhere – and Real Sociedad are in a dogfight with Valencia to secure the fourth spot and Champions League football next season.

Despite having won the last seven fixtures between the two sides, Real Madrid will be in for a tough match at Anoeta, although Sociedad’s leading scorer and dangerman Carlos Vela is suspended having picked up 10 yellow cards this campaign.

The clash in San Sebastian will also see two departing managers go head-to-head. While Jose Mourinho’s departure from Real Madrid was widely announced earlier this week, the Basque team’s boss Philippe Montanier will also leave La Liga and return to France to take over at Stade Rennes.

In terms of team selection, Cristano Ronaldo is available for Los Blancos. His two-match ban for his dismissal in last week’s Copa del Rey final only applies to Copa matches.

Raphael Varane has been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury, and Fabio Coentrao and Xabi Alonso are unlikely to feature having picked up knocks in the final against Atletico de Madrid.

Real Sociedad will welcome back Mikel Gonzalez, who missed his team’s last outing through suspension.

Probable line up (4-2-3-1): Lopez; Essien, Albiol, Ramos, Marcelo; Khedira, Modric, Di Maria, Ozil, Kaka, Higuain

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It’s long been rumoured that Spurs star Gareth Bale is on Real Madrid’s wish list, and today Marca says the club will do all it can in the coming weeks to sign the Welshman.

Despite the small matter of the European Cup Final having taken place last night, it opts for a picture of the 21-goal hero on the front cover as say Los Blancos management will pull out all the plugs to secure their man.

It follows comments by Madrid legend Zindine Zidane saying Bale is up there with Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi as one of the best players in the world. Earlier on in the week, Sergio Ramos also spoke publically about the winger, and how he would be a perfect fit for Los Merengues.

As has a picture of Jupp Heynckes celebrating Bayern Munich’s Champions League win on the front cover. Underneath the headline saying “Heynkes gets his reward” there is a caption with a quote from Carlos Ancelotti saying his will fulfil his contract at PSG if the two clubs can not reach an agreement for him to take over as boss at the Bernabeu.

On the inside pages, Neymar also gets plenty of coverage after he announced he would leave Santos for Barcelona. As says he will sign for the Spanish champions on Monday.

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Real Madrid has rejected Juventus offer for striker Gonzalo Higuain according to Italian sports website Tuttomercatoweb. Italian directors had proposed paying 22 million euros in four instalments, but Los Blancos want 25 million in just one payment.

Although the Argentinian had been reported to have already reached an agreement with Juve, the clubs are farther from closing the deal after negotiations maintained this week.

Real and Juventus will keep on talking in the following days, but the transfer is not expected to be completed soon, since the player has to travel to South America for two qualifying games for the 2014 World Cup with Argentina.

Coentrao linked with a Juventus transfer

Juventus could have also made an offer for Fabio Coentrao, according to Tuttomercatoweb. The Italian website reports that the Vecchia Signora would be willing to pay a quantity around 20 million euros.

The Portuguese left back said recently that he is open to a move, and a number of clubs have already shown their interest, including Chelsea and Monaco.

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Spanish anchorman Josep Pedrerol has reported that Florentino Perez would be thinking of giving Zinedine Zidane the job as assistant manager, as well as putting him in charge of the sports direction.

The director of the famous Spanish late night sports show Punto Pelota pointed out that apart from being the next coach’s assistant, Zidane would be responsible for planning the squad and supervising and approving all the transfers.

A poll conducted by Real Madrid’s fan page Defensa Central showed that 59 per cent of voters want Zizou to become assistant manager and sports director, while 42 per cent think he doesn’t have the experience required.

Real’s directors and fans have very positive opinions about Zidane’s scouting skills since he recommended the signing of Raphael Varane and the young centre back turned out to be one of the most promising defenders in the world.

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Brazilian club Flamengo have said they are unsure whether they can afford a deal to bring Kaka back to his homeland.

Speaking to ESPN, Paulo Pelaipe, the club’s sporting director revealed an interest in signing the Real Madrid playmaker and said the door would always be open for him should he decide to make the switch.

But he admitted Kaka’s annual wages of around €10 million would be a major stumbling block in any deal being reached.

Kaka is thought to want to stay in the Spanish capital, although he has found his chances limited this year, starting only 11 games in La Liga.

Pelaipe said: “His move could excite the fans, but I am cautious and I’m not a braggart.

“We are open to new faces, but Flamengo has a transfer policy that is grounded. We are trying to recover financially and we assume that we cannot meet his expenses.”

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Both Madrid’s sports papers have plenty of focus on who will play up front for Real Madrid next season.

And Marca opts for a picture of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, saying he could be an option to bolster Los Blancos’ options. There is also a mention of Edison Cavani, who they say would cost in the region of €45 million.

There is also still plenty of coverage of the ongoing transfer saga of Brazilian attacker Neymar, with As opting for him on the front page. According to the paper the Santos forward is weighing up his options and will choose between Barcelona and Madrid in the coming weeks.

The potential signing of Gareth Bale has also got more tricky for Los Blancos, according to Marca, as the Welshman has a agreed a deal to be the face of BT, who have acquired rights to show Premier League games live. “He can hardly be the embodiment of the Premier while playing in Spain,” the paper says.

Away from summer signings, there is big match build up to the Champions League final and more focus in Madrid’s game tomorrow evening, which has been labelled as the “Leaver’s match” with both managers set to depart at the end of the campaign – Jose Mourinho back to Chelsea, and Real Sociedad’s Philippe Montanier to Stade Renes.

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Mezut Ozil’s father has said Real Madrid fans have not seen the best of the midfielder yet.

Speaking to Madrid-based sports paper Marca, Mustafa Ozil said his 24-year-old son is happy with his role in the team and enjoys the freedom given to roam around the pitch.

Ozil, who is of Turkish decent, has scored 10 goals in 50 appearances this season. In addition, he has provided a further 10 assists – the same number as Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The trio share joint fourth spot in the assists chart behind Barclona’s Cesc Fabregas, Leo Messi and Andres Iniesta.

Mustafa Ozil said: “Mesut feels very much at home playing at Real Madrid. Right now he’s playing at a great level, but I think he can still improve. He is only 24, with a long way to go. I´m proud of what he has achieved so far, but he can do even better.”

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Real Madrid’s left back Fabio Coentrao has said he is open to a move to Premier League side Chelsea.

The 25-year-old Portuguese international revealed in an interview with O Jogo that he has never felt wanted in his time at the Bernabeu and would be happy to move on.

The paper claimed Coentrao could join Jose Mourinho at the west London club for a fee of around €18 million.

Coentrao stated: “From the first day on, I got the feeling that I was not really wanted here. It seems as if everybody wants me to leave the club.”

Asked if Chelsea was his most likely destination, the defender said he would not close the door on any team.

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Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero will not be joining Real Madrid this summer, his club has said.

Some media outlets had suggested the forward was keen on a return to the Spanish capital after splitting from his wife who has left Manchester to return to Spain.

Aguero previously had a successful spell playing for Atletico de Madrid prior to his move to the Premier League.

But Ferran Soriano, City’s chief executive ruled out any possibility of the Argentinean being sold.

Speaking to the Mirror, Soriano said: “I can be really clear on this one. He’s not leaving. This has gone on and on and on. “

He added that the club was keen to keep a squad of 22 to 24 players together and was targeting areas they want to strengthen to enable City to wrestle back the Premier League title next season.

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With the football season coming to an end and news of Jose Mourinho’s departure confirmed, the Madrid press is now in transfer rumour overdrive.

And one name frequently mentioned with Los Blancos is Neymar, the young Brazilian playmaker currently playing for Santos.

As opts for his potential transfer as it’s front page, with the headline “I’ll sign for Madrid if Cristiano stays”. Marca also has plenty of coverage of the potential switch, with the paper claiming that Carlo Ancelotti has already given the green light for the deal.

Marca opts for a picture of Daniel Carvajal as its front page, with the headline “Prepared”, as the right back looks set for a move to Los Merengues from Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

There is mention of other potential arrivals at the Bernabeu this summer, with Marca claiming Ancelotti also wants to secure Arturo Vidal’s signature.

Of course, for so many new arrivals to happen, some of the current playing squad will need to leave, and according to Marca, Fabio Coentrao is close to securing a switch to Chelsea where he will continue to play under Jose Mourinho.

While there is plenty of speculation surrounding the club, both As and Marca also begin switching their attention to this Sunday’s La Liga fixture with Champions League-chasing Real Sociedad.

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