Real Madrid News

There had been doubts over the striker’s long-term future with los Blancos, but his performances in Israel have earned him the opportunity to establish himself

Alvaro Morata has confirmed that he will stay at Real Madrid following a phone call with president Florentino Perez in the aftermath of Spain’s triumph over Italy in the European U21 Championship final on Friday.

The 20-year-old accumulated just 581 minutes under Jose Mourinho last season – equalling to a total of 15 matches – and there had been concerns that the striker would seek a move away with a view to gaining more first-team football.

But after helping la Rojita defend their European crown in Israel by finishing as the competition’s top scorer, Morata says he will fight for his place at the Santiago Bernabeu next season as his employees are “very happy” with him.

“I called the president and he told me that I will stay at Real Madrid next season. He is very happy with me,” he told Cadena SER.

“[Spain] came here [Israel] as a group, and that’s why we have been crowned champions. I am happy, yes, but this is a success of the group and everyone in it.”

Morata also revealed that he spoke to Isco about the possibilty of the Malaga attacker joining him at Madrid before the start of the 2013-14 campaign and suggested Thiago Alcantara was considering his future with Barcelona.

“I am trying to convince Isco to to come,” he added. “It seems Thiago has received bids, and they are enough to make him consider leaving [Barca].

The Blancos youth product scored four times, two ahead of his nearest rivals.

The Peixe official believes the Italian giants must meet them halfway if they are to successfully negotiate the sale of the former Real Madrid attacker

Santos vice-president Odilio Rodrigues says AC Milan must lower their asking-price if they are to complete a deal for Robinho this summer.

The 29-year-old, who spent three years with Peixe prior to joining Real Madrid in 2005, is said to be keen on a move away from San Siro in the coming months after having found himself on the fringes of Massimiliano Allegri’s plans for much of last season, and his former club have long been desperate to have him back.

However, the Rossoneri are understood to be holding out for at least €9 million for the forward, while Santos are believed to be reluctant to table an offer of mor than €6 million, and Rodrigues has appealed for a compromise.

“We have spoken to people who represent Robinho and Milan, and the quoted figures are very high,” he told Globoesporte.com.

“We spoke on the phone and we are still waiting to hear confirmation on those figures.”

Robinho previously retutned to Santos in 2010, spending six months on loan from Manchester City, during which time he helped the club to Copa do Brasil and Campeonato Paulista titles.

Currently without a coach since dismissing Muricy Ramalho at the end of May, earlier on Tuesday Santos announced that the deal to bring Marcelo Bielsa to Estadio Vila Belmiro had fallen through.

Tottenham’s star player has been heavily linked with a big-money move to the Liga giants and the figures bandied about have shocked the ex-Arsenal skipper

Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas thinks Real Madrid would be ‘crazy’ to break the world transfer record and pay €100 million for Tottenham’s Gareth Bale.

The Wales international has been heavily linked with a move to the Bernabeu with speculation putting a potential transfer fee in the region of £85 million – which would break the current transfer €94 million record which Madrid paid to Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, Fabregas does not understand how a club could be prepared to spend such a substantial figure.

He told AS: “For me, spending €100 million on Gareth Bale is crazy. I don’t know how any club could spend that amount of money in these [economic] circumstances.

“He is a great player with all the right attributes, but we will have to see if Madrid sign him and if he can perform there.”

Fabregas also reiterated his desire to remain at Barcelona despite continued speculation linking him with a return to the Premier League.

“People talk a lot, but the truth is that no one has spoken with me,” he added. “I want to triumph in Barcelona. That club is my home and I always dreamed of playing there, so I will try and succeed there as long as I can.”

The midfielder also insisted newboy Neymar will need time to settle at Camp Nou, adding: “Neymar will need time to adapt because he is coming from a completely different type of football.

“We need to help him settle in and grow so that he can give us great nights.

“The egos are very controlled in our team. [Lionel] Messi has won the Ballon d’Or four times and is probably the best player of all time – but when you see him every morning, he doesn’t seem like it.”

The Spain coach insists that the Roja and Real Madrid skipper’s selection against Uruguay was a sporting decision, not one born out of loyalty

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has denied that he is selecting veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas due to favouritism.

The Real Madrid skipper spent the second half of the 2012-13 season on the sidelines and subsequently on the bench, which coincided with the impressive form of emergency replacement Diego Lopez.

However, he has walked back into the Spain team for the Confederations Cup, though Del Bosque insists that he is discounting club form.

“We value a lot of things about him,” he told Radio Marca. “Because of certain details we included him as a starter. It’s not a case of favouritism with Casillas. It’s always a question of the team before players.

“I want to isolate clubs. Nobody can doubt Casillas’ many matches. He deserves respect at the very least.”

Andres Iniesta put in a man-of-the-match performance during Spain’s 2-1 win over Uruguay on Sunday and Del Bosque is delighted with the Barcelona star’s form.

“He’s very comfortable when he’s playing, very loose, very easy, very smooth and he’s doing it all naturally,” he added.

Roberto Soldado played as an orthodox striker against the South Americans and Del Bosque says he will practise rotation more in this tournament than in previous years.

“They will all have opportunities. There’s going be more participation than in other tournaments.”

Finally, the veteran trainer said he is eager to face their Euro 2012 final opponents at the climax of the competition.

“I don’t have any preference but a rematch against Italy would be nice.”

The Barcelona boss has praised his side for equalling La Liga’s record points tally but feels they would have thrived under pressure from Real Madrid

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova believes his side “fell short” last season because of a lack of credible competition in La Liga.

The Blaugrana amassed a record-equalling 100-point tally, winning back their title from Real Madrid having led the table for the entire campaign.

And the 44-year-old feels that a better title challenge from the capital club would have helped them, but praised his side for reaching their century despite the lack of pressure.

“We fell short,” he is quoted as saying by AS.

“The difficulty is that we didn’t have pressure on us for more time. The year that Madrid got 100 points, we got 91.

“When we got 99, Madrid had 96. Once we were Liga champions, it would be normal to have lost a game and not reach 100 points.

“This clearly demonstrates the competitive spirit of the team.”

Barca got their campaign under way with a 5-1 victory over Real Sociedad and Vilanova believes this was key to the players accepting him as Pep Guardiola’s replacement.

He added: “It was very important and it was very difficult. Until that moment, the players had seen me as the assistant coach and they accepted me as the main man.”