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Vinicius Junior

The new signing of Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior, spoke after the game Flamengo played against Atlético Goiaense in the Brazilian Cup. The young footballer didn’t play any minute but now he’s ready to show his quality whenever the coach needs him. Actually, many people criticized the manager, Zé Ricardo, for keeping Vinicius on the bench.

Vinicius Junior spoke for Fox Sports Brazil after the game: “My agents, my parents and Flamengo solved everything. I think now about money, only in playing and the joy of Flamengo supporters. I’m very happy with the negotiation but now I’m now focused on Real Madrid, only in Flamengo. Now I have to go step by step, winning titles with this t-shirt and afterwards I’ll think about Real Madrid”, the player said.

The Brazilian pearl was also asked about his plans for the future: “I only think about being one or two more years in Flamengo so I can arrive more mature to Madrid”, Vinicius affirmed.

Vinicius has just played two games with Flamengo and some supporters want to see him right now on the pitch. The manager wants to be cautious: “We count on him for Brasileirao and this is what we are doing. We have to take care of him because he showed already his skills. Being on the bench is part of getting mature. In few days he will be adapted·, Zé Ricardo said about the Real Madrid player.

Real Madrid and Flamengo made official this week the transfer of Vinicius Junior to the Spanish capital. Los Blancos will pay €45M for the young player, but he won’t arrive to Madrid until 2018 or 2019. He has still to turn 18 to complete his transfer abroad and gain experience with Flamengo, because he made his debut only this year. Hopefully, we can see his skills soon enough.

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La Liga has just ended and the clubs are working to improve their squads for the next years. Real Madrid still have to play the final of the Champions League in Cardiff on the 3rd of June but Florentino Pérez and Zinedine Zidane are already working very hard to get new players.

Two players that won’t arrive to Madrid in the summer are Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois. After conquering the Premier League title, and still with the FA Cup final to be played, Roman Abramovich wants to build a very strong team and these two players are key in the dressing room.

Real Madrid scouters consider that Eden Hazard plays in the same position as Marco Asensio, so the Spaniard could be blocked in his progression if the Belgian playmaker arrives. Asensio showed a great level in the last months of the season, especially in the Champions League against Bayern Munich or Atlético Madrid and the bosses think that he’s ready to step up and fight for a position in the line-up.

Courtois’ case is different. Real Madrid still want to sign a goalkeeper but they’re focused on David De Gea, who won yesterday the Europa League with Manchester United. Courtois wanted to go back to the Spanish capital for personal reason, but Abramovich is working to extend his contract, that expires in 2018, according to MARCA.

With Keylor Navas winning again a lot of confidence ,it won’t be easy for the new goalkeeper, De Gea presumably, to earn a spot in the line-up. The Costa Rican player announced that he will fight until the end no matter the competitors that might arrive.

With Hazard and Courtois out of the list of possible signings, Mbappé and De Gea are the targets numbers one. The French striker could replace Morata or Bale if one of them decide to leave, whereas De Gea should arrive this summer, after many years trying the signing.

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Daniel Carvajal

Good news for Real Madrid. The squad is already training to prepare the final of the Champions League on the 3rd of June against Juventus. After celebrating the 33rd La Liga title, it’s time to think only in the Italian side to make history conquering back-to-back Champions League trophies.

Zinedine Zidane has still to recover some players who have physical problems. Luckily, Dani Carvajal should be ready to play in Wales. The right back passed on Tuesday some medical tests and he should train with the rest of the group normally. If nothing changes, Carvajal will occupy the right back and Danilo will go back to the bench.

Dani Carvajal got injured in the 2nd of May in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Atlético Madrid. The Spaniard missed the second leg and the rest of the season in La Liga but there was hope to recover him for the final. Actually, last year he also got injured in the final in Milan, but the team could lift another European trophy.

Carvajal absence is very important in the team. Danilo could not replace him with guarantees and Los Blancos suffered when the Spaniard is not in the line-up. Actually, he’s been very important this year in the Champions League with great assists in the games against Napoli or Bayern Múnich. Perhaps, Carvajal is now the best right back of the world, so having him back in the team are very good news for the manager.

Now, Gareth Bale should be the only injury concern around Real Madrid. The Welshman has been heavily criticized for his last performances and he got injured in El Clásico at Santiago Bernabéu. With Isco playing at a great level in the new formation 4-4-2, his absence in Cardiff would be less important. Besides, it would create a huge debate about whether Bale should play the final or Isco.

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Vinicius Junior

Real Madrid and Flamengo have confirmed the deal for Vinicius Junior, who will join Los Blancos in the 12th of July of 2019. Florentino Pérez will pay €45M for a 16-year-old striker who has just made his debut with the first team of Flamengo. The striker could also travel to Madrid in 2018, when he turns 18.

There were already a lot of rumours around the signing of the new star in the Brazilian football. This time, Real Madrid didn’t want to lose the opportunity to tie a young player from Brazil as they missed Gabriel Jesús or Neymar recently.

For this reason, Florentino Pérez invited Vinicius family to Madrid and they showed him Santiago Bernabéu stadium, his new home or some players of the first squad. Everything was possible to convince him to sign for Los Blancos, instead of FC Barcelona, Manchester City or PSG.

Actually, FC Barcelona were very close to sign him and even Neymar sent messages to Vinicius to convince him. This time, Real Madrid were quicker and they could be happy to tie the new Brazilian pearl, although they’ll have to pay up to €45M. Los Blancos will play €30M now and the other €15M in the following years.

Should Los Blancos spend such amount of money for a youngster? The true is that Vinicius only made his debut with Flamengo on the 14th of May. He was the youngest footballer to ever made a debut in the Brasileirao, beating Gabriel Jesús and Neymar in the stats. But Vinicius is already a star who has signed with Nike and he has won the South American U-17 tournament, being the topscorer of the tournament.

The player renewed his contract with Flamengo only some days ago. His new deal expires in 2022 and it was the previous step to sign with Real Madrid. Los Blancos continue to sign very young players like Asensio, Jesús Vallejo or Odegaard. Will Vinicius be the new Neymar or a blow like Robinho? We’ll know in the next years.

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Álvaro Morata

The new Chinese owner of AC Milan, Li Yonghong, wants to build a big club again and they need to sign very important players in this transfer window. The Italian club won’t play the Champions League next player, but at least they’ll be back in Europe with the Europa League, the first step to continue growing little by little.

Silvio Berlusconi sold the club this year to some Chinese investors who wanted to put some money in the club. They want to fight again with Juventus for the title and not with Atalanta for a place in the Europa League. For this reason, they want to target big players in Europe and they want Morata to be their flagship.

The Spanish striker could be interested in moving back to Italy. He’s about to get married with an Italian woman in Venice and he was very happy in the two years spent at Juventus. Besides, he knows the competition and he thinks it suits his way of playing.

Another reason and the most important one is that Álvaro Morata would be the new star for AC Milan. He won’t have any competitors because Carlos Bacca should leave the club and Lapadula is a good substitute. Therefore, he will enjoy all the important minutes of the season, something that he’s looking forward after a difficult year at Real Madrid.

The investment should be very high. According to the Spanish newspaper MARCA, AC Milan are able to spend up to €60M for the Spanish striker, so Real Madrid could accept this offer. The problem for Los Blancos is that they’d need to go into the market to find a replacement and it’d be very difficult. Besides, Morata won’t play the Champions League in the next year, something also very negative for his career, especially thinking that we have the World Cup in Russia in the summer of 2018.

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Zidane-Atlético_GI

Real Madrid won the 33rd La Liga title on Sunday against Málaga at La Rosaleda (0-2) thanks to the goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. It was a suffered trophy, conquered after four seasons of drought in this competition. Everybody was very important, but the key responsible was Zinedine Zidane, a happy man.

Zizou arrived to the bench in January of 2016. He’s won the Champions League, the European Supercup, the FIFA Club World Cup and La Liga. Another European trophy could arrive on the 3rd of June. But even more important than the trophies, Zidane has brought happiness, calm and a project to the chaos of the last years in the Bernabéu stadium.

A lot of people didn’t trust Zizou because he didn’t have any experience in a top level club and he had a good relationship with the players. He has been heavy criticized for smiling during the press conferences. Mourinho or Benítez acid style was preferred because they made the players worked harder. But Real Madrid is not a club of coaches, but a club of players. And Zidane knows it very well after winning his Champions League dressed in white in 2002.

Besides, he’s made a lot of right choices during the season. First of all, he’s given confidence to all the players in the squad. “Everybody is important”. And he meant it when 20 footballers played more than 1000 minutes in La Liga and 19 of them were able to score at least one goal during the season in the Spanish tournament.

As a consequence of this, the stars are arriving much better to the end of the season than in previous years. Cristiano Ronaldo made the difference in the last month of competition, whereas Luka Modric or Toni Kroos are showing again a great level in the midfield.

He has also handled very well the youngsters in the team. Marco Asensio has step up the whole ladder in his first season with Los Blancos and now he’s able to lead the team in the next season. Lucas Vázquez, Isco or Morata have also shown a great level when they come up from the bench, although the last two of them could have deserved more minutes during the season.

Zidane has also given confidence to Keylor Navas and Karim Benzema, two players who have been under heavy criticism. Both of them are finishing the season with a great level, with very important performances in the Champions League and La Liga. The French coach has also been able to convince James Rodríguez of his secondary role, and the Colombian playmaker had made the difference in the last games of the season, scoring 7 important goals.

The 33rd title will be remember as the trophy of the team, more than from a specific player. For this reason, this is the triumph of the coach, Zinedine Zidane, who is learning game by game, gaining experience. The next challenge is winning the double and lifting back-to-back Champions League trophies. No one has done it yet. Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid are in their way to make history.

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Iker Casillas will leave Porto at the end of the season and he could join Liverpool in the next days. The Real Madrid legend is about to sign a new deal with Jurgen Klopp’s team, so he could secure to play one year more the Champions League, his favourite competition.

According to the Spanish newspaper As, Casillas has already talked with Jurgen Klopp and he could have signed a pre-contract with the Merseyside club. Therefore, the Spaniard could play one more year in a top level club and he could participate in the Champions League again, after reaching the Last 16 round this year with Porto.

After some seasons struggling to play at a great level, Iker Casillas has shown great skills during the year. However, his good level couldn’t help Porto to win the Portuguese League. Actually, his coach, Nuno Espíritu Santo, has been fired and the club is preparing a revolution in the club after four years losing Liga Sagres with his fierce competitor Benfica.

The main reason for Casillas exit is his high salary. His contract expires on the 30th of June, and ‘The Dragons’ don’t want to extend his contract. Liverpool are in a good position to offer him another good contract and, especially, a good sport project, going back to the Champions League and fighting for every title with Klopp on the bench.

Casillas played 43 games this season with Porto, only conceding 23 goals. He was able to keep a clean sheet in 23 games. Although he’s already 36 years old, he could be able to compete with the Belgian goalkeeper Mignolet, who makes a lot of mistakes.

Liverpool is not the only club interested in Casillas. The Spanish goalkeeper has also some offers coming from Turkey, China or Qatar. In those countries he would be able to earn much more money, but with Liverpool he could play in another top level club and enjoy the Premier League.

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Real Madrid were celebrating the 33rd La Liga title won at Málaga on Sunday but Florentino Pérez and his team are already preparing the next season. One of the big question marks is whether Pepe will continue at the club or he’ll leave the Spanish capital.

The Portuguese defender spoke during the celebrations and he said again that he’d like to continue playing for Los Blancos: “The final of the Champions League is the 3rd of June and my contract expires on the 30th of June. Like I always said, I’ll wait for Real Madrid until the end”.

The captain was one of the footballers who showed more joy when the final whistle at La Rosaleda arrived. Pepe was recording every moment with his GoPro Camera on the pitch, showing his love for the Real Madrid colours. Despite his physical problems, he’s shown great professionalism once again this season and he played well when he had the chance.

Unfortunately for him, Pepe only played 13 games in La Liga this season, scoring 2 goals, one of them very important in the derby against Atlético Madrid. With Raphael Varane fully fit and Nacho ready to play, it’ll be very complicated for Pepe to have minutes in the Champions League final. Last season, he was in the line-up in the final game against Atlético Madrid at Milan .

“I’m happy. I’m ready at 100% to play”, Pepe said after the game at Málaga. Therefore, the Portuguese player could be ready to go back to the football pitch. He played the last game in the derby on the 8th of April, when he suffered a fracture in his ribs.

Pepe has been linked with great offers from China, where he could earn much more money than in Spain. The defender has also some interesting offers from Italy, especially coming from Inter Milan. Pepe wants to sign a new two year deal with Real Madrid but the club is only offering one more year of contract. In the following weeks, we’ll know Pepe’s destination, one of the best defenders in the recent history of the club.

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David De Gea posted in his social media a farewell message dedicated to Manchester United supporters. José Mourinho denied the goodbye to the Spanish goalkeeper because he wasn’t included in the list in the last game of the season at Old Trafford against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Red Devils have their mind in the Europa League final and José Mourinho decided to put in the pitch a team with a lot of youngsters. Both Sergio Romero, who will play the Europa League final, and David De Gea didn’t play the game. However, the Spanish goalkeeper wanted to say goodbye to his supporters: “Thank you for your unconditional support”, he wrote in the Social Media channels with a picture of De Gea applauding to Old Trafford.

The Spaniard has still contract with Manchester United but the message shed some light about his future. This time, the deal with Real Madrid will be sealed and, according to some media, it will be announced very shortly. Actually, De Gea’s message was similar to James Rodríguez’s farewell to Santiago Bernabéu in the game against Sevilla one week ago.

David De Gea will have to face heavy competition at Real Madrid because Keylor Navas showed again his great skills at the end of the season and, after conquering La Liga, he announced that he will stay will Los Blancos, no matter who arrives: “I won’t leave, I have three years more of contract. I’m going to come back the next season stronger than ever. I know my goal, I’m going to keep working to ‘eat’ whatever comes. I don’t have any trouble for competing, as I’ve always done”, the Costa Rican goalkeeper said, sending a message to David De Gea.

Manchester United had still to play one game this season, the Europa League final on Wednesday against Ajax. However, David De Gea will be on the bench because Sergio Romero is the goalkeeper in that competition. Mourinho will try to fight off and try to convince De Gea to stay, although the Spaniard has already taken a decision and he will make the move to Madrid. Will the clubs agree a record transfer fee for a goalkeeper soon or we shall wait the whole summer like two seasons ago? We’ll know in the following days.

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RealMadrid-Champions-LaLiga-GI

The players, the supporters, the staff… Everybody celebrated the 33rd title of La Liga for Real Madrid after five years fighting to bring back the trophy to Santiago Bernabéu. It was a long, tough and hard path to conquer the title, so it was time to celebrate before getting ready for the dessert of the season: the final of the Champions League.

The party started with the final whistle at La Rosaleda. The players tossed Zinedine Zidane into the air and then the interrupted the press conference to put champagne on the manager. Sergio Ramos took a bullfighting cape and started the show on the grass. All the players, with their cellphones and cameras, recorded all the unforgettable moments.

Isco, one of the best players of the team in the last weeks, could win the trophy in his hometown: “The Real Madrid supporters shouldn’t worry, I’ll stay”, the player said about the renewal of his contract. Keylor Navas also confirmed that he’ll stay in the capital even if David De Gea signs with Los Blancos: “I’m going to fight, no matter who comes”.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored again the first goal of the game and he was one of the best players in the last games of the season, scoring crucial goals: “People speak about me as If I’m a criminal and they don’t know shit”, said the Portuguese striker. “I’m not a saint but I’m not the devil either”, Cristiano commented.

After the party in the stadium, Real Madrid took a plane and arrived to Madrid at 1am. They headed to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, where they caught a convertible bus to enjoy the title with their supporters. The squad arrived at La Cibeles, the fountain where Real Madrid supporters celebrate the titles, at 2.30am. There were thousand of supporters waiting for their team and they cheered and applauded their heroes.

The players and the supporters had a few words for the rival: “Piqué, bastard, send greeting to the champions”, some players like Nacho or Carvajal said. Some others also had words for Atlético Madrid: “Tell me, what you feel”. There was a lot of happiness during the evening but Cristiano Ronaldo was already thinking in the Champions League final: “We need you to win the Champions League”.

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