The Life of Carlo: Mia San Mia

RAUL PROUD OF THE INEVITABLE

Real Madrid legend and all-time top goalscorer of the club Raul Gonzalez has admitted he’d be more than happy to see his goal scoring record surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Raul, also top of the appearances list for Los Merengues, scored a total of 323 goals for the La Liga champions from 1994 to 2010.

Ronaldo’s exceptional form for Real Madrid last season, however, has seen the Portuguese international hit 309 goals for the club in total, 14 goals behind Raul.

Madrid’s former captain says he’d have little problems with seeing Ronaldo rewrite history, admitting he’s one of the finest players to ever wear the infamous white kit.

“I’m very proud of my Real Madrid record, but if you told me to pick someone to take that record away from me, I’d probably pick [Alfredo] Di Stefano or, of course, Ronaldo.

“What Ronaldo has done since 2009 is exceptional, inhuman even, so there is no problem at all with seeing him take the record. Players like Ronaldo are one of a kind and deserve all that comes there way.”

The former Madrid number seven took approximately 15 years to hit the 300 mark, whereas Ronaldo has taken just six seasons to achieve the feat.

CARVALHO SIGNS FOR LOS BLANCOS

Real Madrid has completed the signing of Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho, costing the La Liga champions £12.5 million plus Nacho Fernandez.

The cash plus player deal will also rise to £17.5 million, with Real Madrid having to pay up 40% of Carvalho’s transfer value to a third party company, owners of the Portuguese midfielder.

Carvalho, closely watched by Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in the past, agreed to sign a five-year-contract with Los Merengues after long discussions between Real Madrid president Emilio Butragueño and Carvalho’s agent, Jorge Mendes, also agent of Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and former Madrid star Angel Di Maria.

The defensive midfielder, who had loan spells at Fatima and Cercle Brugge before establishing himself as a Sporting player, represented the Lisbon outfit a total of 59 times in the league, missing just three Primeira Liga games in total in the past two seasons.

Carvalho is a natural defensive midfielder with an eye for long range passing, which could see Asier Illarramendi pushed further up the field next season, whereas the Angolan-born Portuguese international can also fill in as Real Madrid’s fourth choice centre back.

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Nacho Fernandez has been in search of a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu since January.

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Going the other way as part of the deal is Real Madrid’s less than happy Nacho, who has made his discontent at remaining in the reserves public throughout last season.

The defender on three occasions missed training in protest, resulting in the club disciplining the player and finally adhering to his wishes to a move away from the club.

Nacho had interest from Olympique Lyonnais, FC Porto and Benfica, but instead agreed to be part of the deal that saw him arriving in the green half of Lisbon, as Real Madrid snubbed the £5 million offered by the three clubs.

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CAVANI MOVE SHOT DOWN

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has poured cold water on Edinson Cavani’s rumoured move to the Spanish champions from Paris Saint-Germain.

The PSG hitman, along with Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling and Aaron Ramsey from Arsenal, seemed to be Real Madrid bound following Emilio Butragueño’s move into club presidency.

Having failed to impress as much as many across the border would have hoped, often under the shadow of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cavani’s rumoured move to Real Madrid has been lingering throughout the summer.

However, Ancelotti has denied a move for the Uruguayan, or any other ‘Galactico’ for that matter, claiming his summer business is complete.

“We all know of Cavani’s qualities as a striker, but I have no interest in him and won’t be trying to sign him at all. We have [Karim] Benzema and Munir, that’s more than enough for us.

“We were fantastic last season, so I wouldn’t want to disturb the squad’s harmony. I’ve already filled in the gaps I felt we needed to by signing [William] Carvalho, [Nathaniel] Clyne and Eder Balanta, so I think you can expect our squad to remain as it is following deadline day.”

28-year-old Cavani, who joined PSG from Napoli in 2013 for £53 million, is now likely to remain at the Parc des Princes.

ANCELOTTI SNUBBED BAYERN

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti rejected the chance to manage Bayern Munich this summer, according to the former Bavarians’ player Claudio Pizarro.

The Peruvian striker was released by the club at the end of the season and has stated that Ancelotti, whose contract was also set to expire, was Bayern Munich’s favoured option to take over from Pep Guardiola.

Bayern Munich finished their season empty handed and out of the Bundesliga top two, having been outstanding favourites for the title last August.

As a consequence, the Bayern board sacked Guardiola and approached Ancelotti with the job, before eventually appointing former Juventus and AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri following.

“Ancelotti was the main candidate for the job when I spoke to the club’s directors and Bayern went as far as offering him a deal with the club,” said Pizarro.

“The club placed me in a position where there may have been a chance for me to stay at Bayern if the new manager wished, which is why I was on hold, but Ancelotti decided to stay in Madrid.

“Because of my contract situation I was informed of much of what was going on by my agent and directors, and shortly after I had heard Ancelotti had rejected Bayern, they appointed Allegri and he had told the club I wasn’t needed.”

Allegri guided Juventus to their fourth consecutive Serie A title before losing 2-0 to Ancelotti’s Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions’ League final.

Pre-Season 2015/2016

One to Watch

Jose Luis Gaya

Gaya had a top first season and promises to push Marcelo even harder for the left back spot. A hat-trick to go with his good performances in pre-season should do his confidence wonders.

The Verdict

Winning four wins out of five, we did what we needed to do. It should have been five wins overall, but the team fell asleep versus Moreirense. Some players need to have that element of real competitive football sometimes, so it’s normal to see slip-ups from time to time. Overall, it was a solid pre-season and I was pleased with some of the performances and big results we got out of it.

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Real Madrid Squad 2015/2016

Porteros

Goalkeepers

1. Iker Casillas, 13. Keylor Navas.

Defensores

Defenders

2. Raphael Varane, 3. Jose Luis Gaya, 4. Sergio Ramos, 5. Eder Alvarez Balanta, 12. Marcelo, 15. Dani Carvajal, 22. Nathaniel Clyne, 25. Diego Llorente

Mediocampistas

Midfielders

6. Sami Khedira, 8. Toni Kroos, 10. James Rodriguez, 11. Gareth Bale, 14. William Carvalho, 19. Luka Modric, 23. Isco, 24. Asier Illarramendi

Delanteros

Forwards

7. Cristiano Ronaldo, 9. Karim Benzema, 17. Munir El Haddadi, 20. Jese Rodriguez