The Madrid press is slowly turning its attention to the weekend’s matches, although there is one story dominating the back pages today in Spain – the ongoing investigation into the cost of Neymar’s transfer to Barcelona last summer.
There have been all kinds of reports of dodgy deals, tax fraud, undeclared payments, agents fees…plenty for Madrid-based paper Marca to feed off!
AS opts for a picture of Atletico de Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois on its front page this morning, and says the young Belgian stopper is a key transfer target for Real Madrid in the summer. The future of Diego Lopez and Iker Casillas at Los Blancos remains in doubt. particularly the latter, who has been restricted to appearances in the Champions League and Copa del Rey for the last year or so.
And AS says Casillas is likely to move on, with a number of destinations possible, including Premier League giants Manchester City. In that scenario, Carlo Ancelotti would need a need man between the sticks to cover or challenge Lopez.
Courtois has been on loan at Atletico for three years, and is believed to been keen to stay in Spain rather than return to Chelsea as he does not want to sit on the bench while number one Petr Cech remains at Stamford Bridge.
Elsewhere, Elche forward Cristain Herrera says Jese is a player a lot of young Spaniards look up to as a reference point, and he wants to swaps shirts after the game on Saturday.
