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No one remembers Rafa Benítez at Real Madrid. His period with Los Blancos was very short, only 6 months, and Zinedine Zidane took over in January to lead the team to the 11th Champions League in Milan against Atlético Madrid. The manager left Madrid and signed with Newcastle, who were fighting to avoid relegation from the Premier League. He couldn’t achieve the goal and he trained the North East club in the Championship, achieving the promotion only one year later.

Now, Rafa Benítez has to plan the new season and he has put his eyes on a Real Madrid player. According to the website OK Diario, the Spanish coach wants to sign Kiko Casilla to reinforce the goalkeeper role at Newcastle. He has currently three goalkeepers in the squad –Darlow, Elliott and Seis-, but he’d like to sign the Real Madrid player.

However, Real Madrid don’t want to sell Kiko Casilla. They see the goalkeeper as the perfect substitute for this position. Actually, he did a great season, playing 11 games in La Liga, 6 in Copa del Rey, one in Champions League and the European Supercup against Sevilla.

Real Madrid are having a look in the market to sign a new goalkeeper. Gigi Donnarumma is the favourite one, but he might join the club in 2018, when his contract expires. The other option is David de Gea, although his signing fee would be very high. Real Madrid can also give confidence to Keylor Navas, who won the Champions League for the club. No matter who arrives, or stays, in the club, the bosses want Casilla to be the second goalkeeper.

Kiko Casilla played at Real Madrid when he was a youngster and then he made his career with Espanyol, where he was a key player in the squad. In 2015, Real Madrid paid €6M for the player, who is now 30 years old, the perfect age for a mature goalkeeper.

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Marcelo-Messi-GI

Real Madrid have done an incredible season winning the double with La Liga, and the Champions League. This was a very difficult task, because Los Blancos had not won La Liga in the last five years and they are the first team who proclaims for second time in a row Champions League winners. Now it’s the moment to evaluate the performance of the players during the season 2016-2017.

Marcelo has done one of his best season since he signed with Real Madrid 10 years ago. The Brazilian left back has been very important in the squad, being a key player in Zidane’s usual line-up and a player who has almost played all the games of the season. Marcelo has not had a natural substitute during the year, because Fabio Coentrao’s level ha been lower than the expected and Zinedinde Zidane doesn’t trust in the Portuguese player, who has been probably his last season with Real Madrid.

Nowadays Marcelo is probably the best left back in the world and his level is improving year by year, being a reference in the squad and currently the second captain of Real Madrid. He is a very dangerous player in the attack, despite he is a defender, and thanks to his anarchy and his soul, he has gave many points to Los Blancos in difficult games. A great example is the gaol he scored in the 35th week of the regular season against Valencia when there was no many minutes remaining, giving the victory to Los Blancos in an important clash for the fight for La Liga with Barcelona.

We can say that Marcelo has been one of the best players in the squad this season. The Brazilian left back has played 30 games in La Liga (two goals) and 11 in Champions League. The french manager has always said that Marcelo is very important for the team because he has a great personality and a very good relationship with the rest of his teammates, being a player who all manager wants to have in his team.  It looks like, Marcelo will rest a bit a more next year because Theo Hernández will sign with Los Blancos this summer.

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Marco Asensio is shining with the Spanish national team under 21 in the European Championship in Poland. The winger scored three goals in the first game and he has led the team to the semi-finals of the tournament. He’s living a dreamy season, after winning the Champions League and scoring important goals in the final or against Bayern Munich.

This week, the British newspaper The Telegraph published a list with the 50 best footballers under 21 and Marco Asensio is in the top 10. In this ranking we can see Asensio in the seventh position after his first season playing with Real Madrid. The first one in the list is Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid target for the summer.

Besides, we can also see Gianluigi Donnarumma in the top 10, another Real Madrid target after refusing to sign a new contract with AC Milan. Theo Hernández, whose transfer to Real Madrid will be announced shortly after the agreement with Atlético Madrid, is in the 20th position in the list. In the 39th position we find Vinicius Junior, the Brazilian pearl signed for Real Madrid in the last month.

You can find the full list here:

1. Kylian Mbappé: Mónaco, 18 años
2. Gabriel Jeús: Manchester City, 20 años
3. Ousmane Dembelé: Borussia Dortmund, 20 años
4. Delle Alli: Tottenham, 21 años
5. Leroy Sane: Manchester City, 21 años
6. Kingsley Coman: Bayern Múnich, 21 años
7. Marco Asensio: Real Madrid, 21 años
8. Gianluigi Donnarumma: Milán 18 años
9. André Silva: Milán 21 años
10. Marcus Rashford: Manchester United, 19 años
11. Gabriel Barbosa: Inter Milán, 20 años
12. Anthony Martial: Manchester United, 21 años
13. Thomas Lemar: Monaco, 21 years
14. Alex Iwobi: Arsenal, 21 years
15. Julian Weigl: Borussia Dortmund, 21 years
16. Andreas Christensen, Chelsea, 21 years
17. Julian Brandt: bayer leverkusen, 21 years
18. Christian Pulisic: Borussia Dortmund, 18 years
19. Youri Tielemans: Mónaco, 19 years
20. Theo Hernández: Atlético de Madrid, 19 years
21. Timo Werner: Leipzig, 21 years
22. Kasper Dolberg: Everton, 19 years
23. Alejandro Grimaldo: Benfica, 21 years
24. Davinson Sánchez: Ajax, 21 years
25. Jonathan Tah: Bayer Leverkusen, 21 years
26. Ruben Neves: Porto, 20 years
27. Moise Kean: Juventus, 17 years
28. Riechedly Bazoer: Wolfsburg, 20 years
29. Giovani Lo Celso: PSG, 20 years
30. Mauricio Lemos: Las Palmas, 21 years
31. Malang Sarr: Nice, 18 years
32. Mahmoud Dahoud: Borussia Dortmund 21 years
33. Wilfried Ndidi: Leicester, 20 years
34. Dani Ceballos: Betis, 20 years
35. Renato Sanches: Bayern Múnich, 19 years
36. Ikechi Iheanacho: Manchester City, 20 years
37. Matthijs de Ligt: Ajax, 17 years
38. Presnel Kimpenmbe: PSG, 21 years
39. Vinicius Junior: Real Madrid, 16 years
40. Maximillian Meyer: Schalke, 21 years
41. Patrik Schick: Juventus/Sampdoria, 21 years
42. Niklas Sule: Bayern Múnich, 21 years
43. Ante Coric: Dinamo Zagreb, 20 years
44. Benjamin Henrichs: Bayer Leverkusen
45. Carlos Soler: Valencia, 20 years
46. Marlos Moreno: Manchester City, 20 years
47. Dominic Solanke: Liverpool, 19 years
48. Andrija Zivkovic, Benfica, 20 years
49. ‘Kuki’ Zalazar: Málaga, 19 years
50. Predrag Rajkovic: Maccabi Tel Aviv, 21 years

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Danilo-Real Madrid-GI

Dani Alves was one of the best players of the season for Juventus and he helped the ‘Vecchia Signora’ to reach the Champions League final with great performances against Mónaco in the semi-finals. However, the former FC Barcelona player has a special character and the Italian club has already confirmed that the Brazilian footballer won’t continue another year in Torino. Now they need to find a replacement and Danilo is the first option.

Real Madrid didn’t think about selling Danilo at the end of the season and the player said in a recent interview with a Brazilian TV Channel that he wants to show his quality in the third season with Los Blancos. Therefore, no one could think that Danilo may leave the club in the summer. But Juventus interest change everything and the Brazilian could play the next season for the Champions League runners-up.

According to the Spanish radiostation Cadena Ser, both team are already negotiating the terms and conditions of the agreement. Real Madrid would like to receive around €30M, the same amount the paid to Porto two seasons ago. However, the Italian club prefers a loan for the next season with a buy-clause for the season 2018-19. At the moment, the agreement seems far but the positions could get closer in the following days.

Danilo lost his place in the starting eleven due to Carvajal’s great performances. The Spaniard is one of the best right-backs of the world, so Danilo had to be on the bench most of the season. The Brazilian had the opportunity to play the Champions League semi-finals, for instance, but he has never shown a great level with Los Blancos. Danilo seems nervous and not really fit, although Zidane trusts the player and the manager thinks he could be a great player in the future.

Juventus first option is Danilo but they have another players in mind to replace Dani Alves. Matteo Darmian, Manchester United player, could be his second option for the right back. He’s Italian, he has experience in the Serie A and he’s cheaper than Danilo, so it should be a good option as well.

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L'Equipe Mbappe

Real Madrid bosses are focused on getting Kylian Mbappé on board. He should be the new Galáctico for Florentino Pérez, although it won’t be easy to tie him. Los Blancos have done one step more and Zinedine Zidane called the player last week to try to convince him to play with Los Blancos.

According to the French newspaper L’Equipe, Zidane and Mbappé had a conversation last week. The manager told the Mónaco footballer that he’s very welcomed in Madrid and he will have a lot of minutes if he finally decides to go to Spain. Actually, this is one of the key points, because Mbappé doesn’t want to stay on the bench with the World Cup around the corner and he’d have a lot of competitors in the squad.

The newspaper said that if any of Real Madrid stars leave this summer, there will be room for Mbappé. Actually, L’Equipe published that Gareth Bale could join Manchester United during the summer, so Mbappé could be his replacement. However, at this moment it’s more likely that Cristiano Ronaldo leaves, after the accusations of fraud, or the departures of James Rodríguez and Álvaro Morata, both uncomfortable with their role with Zidane.

This week Zinedine Zidane travelled to Madrid to meet president Florentino Pérez. Both were discussing the strategy of the summer. There are up to seven players whose future in uncertain. It will depend on what they decide to sign new players. Obviously, Mbappé is the first target, however some sources say that Monaco have already rejected an offer for €100M. Therefore, Real Madrid would need to spend around €150M to sign him, the most expensive transfer in the club history.

It could be also a quite risky operation. Mbappé only played one season as a top level player. It’s true that he won the French League with Monaco and reached the Champions League semi-finals with great performances in the knock-out stages, but he has only shown his quality one year.

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valverde-Federico-GI

Federico Valverde was one of the stars of the recently played World Cup U-20 in Korea. The Uruguayan player won the Silver Ball and reached the semi-finals with his national team. We published that Real Madrid were receiving many offers because many clubs were interested in this young player. Now it’s official and Fede Valverde will play the next season on loan at Deportivo La Coruña.

La Liga team announced the agreement in their social media profiles. Fede Valverde will play one season on loan in Galicia and then he will come back to Madrid because Deportivo have no option to tie him one more season.

Last season he played 30 games with Castilla and scored three goals. He was improving during the season after a slow start and he became a very important player for the team. Now, Real Madrid continue with their policy of letting the young players go on loan to have minutes and, if they are successful, they can come back in one or two years to play with the first squad.

Valverde was born in 1998 in Monvevideo (Uruguay), so he is now 18 years old. He arrived to Spain 2016 when Real Madrid paid €5M to Peñarol to get him on board. He’s another youngster to continue with the policy of signing talent all over the world and bring them to Spain to shine. Vinicius, Asensio or Odegaard are other examples of this strategy.

His nickname is “El Pajarito” (The little bird) and he plays in the midfield. Actually, there is a big discussion of whether he’s better playing as a stopper or as a playmaker. Deportivo La Coruña struggled last season to avoid relegation and they need to sign talent to improve their squad. Hopefully, Alejandro can have many opportunities in the club.

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Zinedine Zidane and Florentino Pérez meet this week to speak about the transfer market and plan the next season. There will be several names on the table and Mariano Díaz will be one of them. The Dominican Republic striker will be sold this summer but the player and the club needs to find the right team.

Mariano Díaz has several offers from different Spanish teams. However, Real Madrid set a high price for the striker, around €15M, and many La Liga club cannot afford this transfer fee. For this reason, the forward may need to find another club outside Spain and he has an option to go to France.

“Many clubs want him and he’s in the stage of looking for a club, from outside or inside. When the players go on loan or are sold, they go wherever they want”, Florentino Pérez said about the issue.

According to the website Fichajes.com, Mariano Díaz could leave Madrid to go to Lyon. Olympique Lyon would like Mariano to replace Alexander Lacazette, the great French striker who should leave the club this summer if a good offer arrive. Therefore, the French club would have money to undertake the signing of Mariano Díaz.

Real Madrid want to follow with Mariano the same strategy done with Álvaro Morata. Then, the club will sell Mariano with a buy-back clause, instead of giving him on loan. If the striker plays well and shows his quality, Real Madrid can buy him again and give him the opportunity to play with Los Blancos.

Mariano Díaz only played 13 games this season, scoring 5 goals, including a hat-trick in Copa del Rey against Cultural Leonesa. His most important goal, perhaps, was the one scored against Deportivo La Coruña at home, when the team was losing 1-2. Hopefully, with his new club, Mariano will have the opportunity to shine and show his skills.

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With the transfer market open, there are seven Real Madrid players who don’t know where they’ll play the next season. Pepe, who won’t renew his contract with Real Madrid, and Fabio Coentrao, who will go on loan to Sporting Portugal, are the only two players who will leave the club for sure. But what will happen with some other players?

Cristiano Ronaldo. No one could think that the Portuguese star could leave the club after his best season with Los Blancos, scoring decisive goals in both La Liga and the Champions League. However, the report written by the Spanish prosecutor accusing the player to defraud €14.7M changed everything. Now Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Spain, A Bola says, and PSG could be his destination.

Álvaro Morata. He just got married in Italy and perhaps he can go back to the country of pasta and pizza for a living. Morata has offers from Italy and the Premier League but his transfer fee is very high, around €90M. The striker wants to leave Madrid to have more minutes and play the World Cup, although Zidane wants him to stay.

James Rodríguez. Since Real Madrid won the FIFA Club World Cup, back in December, the Colombian player is decided to leave Spain. He hasn’t had many minutes in the season, although he played quite well when he was available. Zidane also counts on him, but James is not willing to stay another season on the bench.

Mariano Díaz. Another striker that should leave the club in summer. He didn’t have minutes this season and many clubs want him. Los Blancos prefer to sell him with a buy-back clause rather than giving him on loan. There are many teams of La Liga that have shown their interest.

Keylor Navas. Real Madrid are looking into the market to sign another goalkeeper. David de Gea and Gianluigi Donnarumma are the two options. If the club signs any of them, Keylor Navas will need to leave. The Costa Rican wants to stay and his colleagues support him.

Kiko Casilla. This summer, the goalkeeper will receive many offers. He is always on the bench, but when he got the chance he showed his quality. Casilla is only 30 years old and with more minutes he could be able to play the World Cup with Spain.

Marcos Llorente. He’s coming back after a successful season on loan at Alavés. Zidane wants him in the squad but Casemiro and Kovacic are ahead of him in the order of preference. Therefore, it’s very likely that the midfielder doesn’t have the minutes he needs to continue improving his skills.

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Only two days after winning the Champions League, Zinedine Zidane left Madrid to enjoy his holidays. Before packing the suitcase, the French manager left a clear message: “I want the same squad”. Unfortunately this won’t be possible and he has to speak with the president, Florentino Pérez, and José Ángel Sánchez, general director, to plan the next season.

Zidane published a photo on Instagram where we could see the manager with his wife Veronique enjoying their free time in Italy. After that, the coach went to Ibiza to have some fun under the Mediterranean sun but he is now in Madrid with the intention to meet the president and talk about the future.

Repos en Italie

Una publicación compartida de zidane (@zidane) el

Obviously, the first topic to talk about is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese showed his quality again on Wednesday in the Confed Cup with a great goal and he still thinks that leaving Madrid is the best option. Zidane called him to convince him to stay and he’ll speak with the president about CR7.

Zidane also tried to convince Morata to stay in the last days of the season. He even gave him some minutes in the final of the Champions League. However, the Spanish striker is decided to leave La Liga and the Premier League could be his destination. The same happens with James Rodríguez, who wants to leave Real Madrid seeking more minutes.

At least, Zinedine Zidane will have Isco in the squad after the great exhibition made by the playmaker in the last months of the season. Pepe left the club and he’ll be replaced with Jesús Vallejo. Another player to arrive will be Marcos Llorente, the perfect replacement for Casemiro, or Theo Hernández, to reinforce the left-back.

If Morata and James leave, Real Madrid need to sign another offensive player. The best option here will be Kylian Mbappé. Zidane knows very well the Monaco striker and he’ll ask the president his acquisition in case there is a gap in the offensive line.

Zinedine Zidane and Florentino Pérez will speak about all these topics in the meeting this week. After that, we’ll see how the club reacts and which players leave and come to Madrid.

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Fabio Coentrao

Fabio Coentrao is in Lisbon passing the medical tests with Sporting Portugal and the announcement of the agreement will be made shortly. After a terrible season with Los Blancos, Coentrao leaves the club and goes to his country to recover after two poor seasons.

Coentrao played at Benfica before signing for Real Madrid in 2011 for €30M. After five seasons with Los Blancos and another one playing on loan with Monaco, Coentrao goes back to his country. As we can see in this picture published by the journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Coentrao already wears the Sporting Lisbon colours.

Coentrao will leave Real Madrid on loan this summer. Actually, Sporting Portugal will pay only the 10% of his salary, so the agreement is nor really good for Los Blancos. Coentrao is currently earning €3.5M, so the Portuguese club will only pay 350.000€ per year to the left-back.

Coentrao played a very poor season with Real Madrid, participating in only 6 games during the season, including the game against Sporting Portugal in the Champions League group stage, when the left-back committed a fool penalty.

The Portuguese left-back was an important player of the squad when the team won the 10th Champions League in Lisbon in 2014. Then, Fabio Coentrao was in the line-up, playing great games like the Champions League semi-finals against Bayern Munich.

Now, Marcelo is the owner of the left-back position at Real Madrid and Coentrao couldn’t even replace him, because Nacho was the chosen one to play in that role. Next season, Zinedine Zidane will have Theo Hernández, so the position will be covered successfully. Real Madrid have still to announce the signing of Theo Hernández but the deal is done.

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