Cristiano Ronaldo will play in his usual position on the wing this Saturday against Villarreal. Ronaldo is happier playing in space and has expressed his desire to have more freedom to the coaching team, enabling him to make the most of his natural speed and ability to mount surprise attacks coming forward from deep positions. Carlo Ancelotti has been trying the Portuguese out up front alongs...Full Story »

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti wanted to clarify the reasons for the departures of Kaká, and especially Mesut Özil, at an earlier press conference: "I've heard a lot of people talk about the departure of Özil and now it's my turn to talk. Nobody leaves Madrid if they don't want to leave. Özil thought he had a lot of competition for places and asked to leave. It doesn't...Full Story »

Ian Rush has warned Gareth Bale he will need to hit the ground running following his world-record transfer to Real Madrid. Bale, 24, could make his bow for the Spanish giants at Villarreal this weekend, although his 32-minute cameo in Wales' midweek defeat to Serbia was his only football since mid-July. Bale was greeted at Real by Cristiano Ronaldo - the man he replaced as most expensive pla...Full Story »

Barcelona defender Adriano has backed compatriot Neymar to deal with any harsh treatment he may receive from defenders in La Liga. The 21-year-old Brazilian striker is in the early stages of his Barca career after finally completing a long-anticipated switch from Santos in the summer. As a defender himself, Adriano knows plenty about how physical the game can get, but he has backed Neymar to...Full Story »

Zinedine Zidane spoke to 'Real Madrid TV' to clarify his comments on how much Real Madrid paid for Gareth Bale: "Some of my comments have been misinterpreted. When a player is worth so much, it's because he's good. The same happened to me." "Bale's signing is important for Real Madrid. He has been the best player in the Premier League for two seasons. He's going to help us a lot. Real has to ha...Full Story »

Carles Puyol will return to training with the rest of his teammates this week if he continues to have no more injury setbacks, but what is not clear is when he will be ready again to play his first game. A few weeks ago both Tata Martino and Andoni Zubizarreta thought the break in the league for international matches would be the best time to bring Puyol back, but it appears that the date of ...Full Story »

Cristiano Ronaldo and Isco will be at the forefront of Carlo Ancelotti's mind this week. The Portuguese and Spaniard are currently in the hands of the club's medical staff who will be working non-stop to help them recover in time for Saturday's game at Villarreal. After tests on Monday the first conclusions to be drawn are that Ronaldo has more chance than Isco of being available in El Madrig...Full Story »

After a hectic start to his season, and with everyone resigned to the fact that Gareth Bale would not be featuring in the game against Serbia either, coach Chris Coleman sent him on in the 58th minute to replace Leicester's midfielder, Andy King. Bale's half hour on the pitch for Wales represented not just a tardy, but also a sad, season kick-off for Florentino Pérez's latest star signing....Full Story »

Angel Di Maria: Happy to have stayed at Real Madrid after being linked to Arsenal Angel Di Maria has declared that he is happy to have stayed at Real Madrid and is grateful to Carlo Ancelotti for having confidence in him. Di Maria had been linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu during the transfer window as Real considered how many players would have to go to make room in their squ...Full Story »

Real Madrid assistant coach Paul Clement has warned Gareth Bale he will not automatically be guaranteed a starting berth at the Spanish giants. Furthermore, he claims this is irrespective of the Welshman being the most expensive player in history. Madrid's summer-long pursuit of Bale was finally concluded on Monday when the Wales international was officially presented by the nine-time Europe...Full Story »