Real Madrid held on to win the Spanish capital derby 3-2 at Club Atlético de Madrid on Saturday despite the sending off of defender Sergio Ramos. Kaká scored in the 5th minute, Marcelo in the 25th minute and Gonzalo Higuaín in the 64th put Los Merengues up 3-0. However, after Ramos was ejected in the [. Click to continue reading...

Prior to last night's match against Chelsea at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, Footy Factor called in some favors from our Spanish counterparts and shot some telling footage of Atletico Madrid's pre-match warm-up. Do you notice who's missing?

PS. On a side note, check out Jose Antonio Reyes' hop-step-jump over the touchline.

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I think it is fairly safe to say things are not going to plan at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu. After a summer of unprecedented spending they were supposed to challenge for honours on all fronts and regain their place at the top of La Liga from Barcelona.

In all fairness they're only a point behind Barca but the Real hieracrhcy are known for being a bit trigger happy when it comes to managers.

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Real Madrid midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be out of action for a month after aggravating an ankle sprain in Portugal's 3-0 win against Hungary, ruling him out of both UEFA Champions League matches against AC Milan.

The 24-year-old was suffering with an ankle complaint prior to the FIFA World Cup Group 1 qualifier in Lisbon and only lasted 27 minutes as Portugal moved second in the section.

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Real Madrid spent plenty of money in the summer to rejuvenate their faltering team. After falling way short of eventual Spanish and European Champions Barcelona last season Los Merengues forked out huge transfer fees on the likes of Ballon d'Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, while Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso also completed big moves to the Spanish capital.

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Rewind back to 2003 and you'll see that Jonathan Woodgate had everything. From critical acclaim to a huge fan following, he had all the essentials required to go down in the Newcastle folklore as one of the very best defenders of all time. However, the only obstacle that could stop him injuries came into play very early into his career at St.

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Two weeks into this early season and the top dogs in Spain are looking the part. Barcelona has started their defence of their crown with two solid performances; a much brighter start than last year when they lost and tied their first two games. The Blaugrana's back line has impressed me and their mega-signing Dmytro Chigrynskiy has added some much needed stability in front of Victor Valdes.

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World football's hottest property Christiano Ronaldo got off to a flying start for his new club with a debut goal on the opening day of La Liga. Real Madrid's most high profile "Galactico" acquisition of the summer scored from the spot in a 3 - 2 opening day thriller against Deportivo to make a dream start to his football career at his self confessed dream club. Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have reached an agreement for the transfer of Arjen Robben for 25 Million Euros. Although Real Madrid's coach Manuel Pellegrini wanted Robben to be part of his team, the club needs to sell some of their players to recoup some of the money that was spent this Summer.There are rumors that this move is in preparation for the arrival of Ribery to the Spanish capital, Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have reached an agreement for the transfer of Arjen Robben for 25 Million Euros. Although Real Madrid's coach Manuel Pellegrini wanted Robben to be part of his team, the club needs to sell some of their players to recoup some of the money that was spent this Summer.There are rumors that this move is in preparation for the arrival of Ribery to the Spanish capital,

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Liverpool are reportedly set to launch a €11.5 million bid to bring in Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur target Rafael van der Vaart to Anfield.
According to a report in Sport, Rafael Benitez is on the verge of offering Real Madrid €11.5m for the highly-rated midfielder, although many reports have claimed that he has little or no money left to spend over the next two weeks. Click to continue reading...

Thank god there was no Ruud Van Nistelrooy-esque screw up!

Xabi Alonso is set to train with his new Real Madrid team-mates after easing through a club medical on Wednesday morning that saw him complete his move from Liverpool, according to a report.

The Spanish international midfielder has completed the transfer that he publicly stated he wanted, and has been hailed as the last piece in Los Merengues' jigsaw.

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Xabi Alonso will become the latest big-money arrival at Real Madrid this summer after Liverpool agreed the sale of the Spain midfielder for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of €35m.

Madrid's official website confirmed that Alonso would "undergo the required medical" in the Spanish capital on Wednesday before completing the transfer and securing a return to his home country five years after leaving Real Sociedad de Fútbol for Liverpool.

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Real Madrid and Liverpool have been in discussions over the transfer of Xabi Alonso and an agreement has been reached. The Liverpool player requested a transfer and Real Madrid have agreed to pay a transfer. Here's the full story from UEFA.com http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=869636.

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Cristiano Ronaldo made a disappointingly low-key home debut for Real Madrid against Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad in their Peace Cup match at the Bernabeu on Sunday.
Around 80,000 had packed the stadium for the Portuguese winger's glitzy presentation this month but the massive arena in the Spanish capital was only about a third full as Real were held to a 1-1 draw.

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If it wasn't for Florentino Perez and his early transfer window ‘shock and awe' superstar shopping spree, a shopping spree which has seen the triple trophy winning exploits of Joan Laporta's men at the Camp Nou quickly forgotten by anyone not from Catalunya, then what must be regarded as the summer's most ludicrous deal to date would surely never have come to fruition.

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Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has ruled out a move for Valencia striker David Villa.
The 27-year-old Spain international has been linked with a whole host of Europe's top clubs throughout the summer, but Benitez has ruled out Liverpool as potential suitors.
"David Villa, he is not our target," the 49-year-old former Valencia manager told PA Sport. Click to continue reading...

New Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has predicted a goal bonanza next season after the club's latest high-profile recruit completed his €35m move to the Spanish capital from Olympique Lyonnais.

The 21-year-old French international became Madrid's fourth summer signing following the arrivals of Kaká, Raúl Albiol and Cristiano Ronaldo and he made it clear he expects a prolific season ahead for Los Blancos.

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It has been the talk of the summer as the Galacticos 2.0 era burst into life and threatened to smash every transfer record in sight. We all expected some sort of fireworks when Florentino Perez returned to the Bernabeu with lavish promises of a return to an era when the world's best players made an annual migration to the Spanish capital.

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Last week, donning the number 8 on his shirt, Kaka was revealed to the world as a Real Madrid player in front of 40,000 adoring 'Los Blancos' fans. They turned up to celebrate his arrival and see him in the clubs famous all white kit and for many loyal 'Madridistas' and keen neutrals it was a day of renewed hope and what some would expect to be the start of a new force in Spain and Europe. Click to continue reading...

Last week, donning the number 8 on his shirt, Kaka was revealed to the world as a Real Madrid player in front of 40,000 adoring 'Los Blancos' fans. They turned up to celebrate his arrival and see him in the clubs famous all white kit and for many loyal 'Madridistas' and keen neutrals it was a day of renewed hope and what some would expect to be the start of a new force in Spain and Europe. Click to continue reading...

There was a break for the Confederations Cup but now it seems that the Transfers are picking up where they left off. And it turns out that Real Madrid were far from finished with their signings.

Karim Benzema:

It was a process that seemed to go on for ever. It threatened to go on longer with Benzema reportedly happy to stay at Lyon.

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It has been the talk of the summer as the Galacticos 2.0 era burst into life and threatened to smash every transfer record in sight. We all expected some sort of fireworks when Florentino Perez returned to the Bernabeu with lavish promises of a return to an era when the world's best players made an annual migration to the Spanish capital.

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Real Madrid will finally be granted a fair opportunity to negotiate with Liverpool for the transfer of Xabi Alonso.
According to AS, the Anfield outfit's new managing director, Christian Purslow, has told his counterpart in the Spanish capital, Jorge Valdano, to give him a few days before opening formal discussions as he first wants to undertake an extensive revision of the club's accounts to determine their economic situation and set an appropriate asking price for the midfielder. Click to continue reading...

Xabi Alonso has reportedly told his agent he wants his future resolved by July 19.
The Liverpool midfielder, who has been on international duty with Spain at the Confederations Cup in South Africa, met his representative Inaki Ibanez immediately after flying back to Madrid yesterday. Click to continue reading...

Having agreed with Sepp Blatter's comments about being treated like a 'slave' by Man Utd. What must Cristiano Ronaldo be thinking now?
With the contract with Real Madrid now finally agreed, a statement on Real's website read: "The player will be tied to Real Madrid for the next six seasons. Click to continue reading...

After this summer is all said and done I expect we will sit back and look and the newly formed Los Galacticos and wonder how any side will stop what will surely be an attacking dream team. With Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo already on board and with potentially Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and David Villa joining them Real Madrid will have the best attackers in the world with the exception of maybe Barcelona.

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Who doesn't love Franck Ribery? The guy's awesome.

But €150M worth of love? No way.

That's what Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness says the France international is worth. In the meantime, chairman Karl-Heinze Rummenigge says Ribery, who is under contract until 2011, is not for sale.

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Alvaro Negredo has revealed that if he is forced to leave Real Madrid then Liverpool or Valencia would be great destinations, but his first choice is stay at the Bernabeu.
The 23-year-old striker has been bought back by Los Merengues after two years with Almeria and there is some confusion about whether he will stay or be sold as part of another deal. Click to continue reading...

The speculation is all over as Real Madrid have agreed to a transfer fee with Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo. The deal is a record of over a 100 million dollars or roughly 80 million Euros. Here's a recap of the story.

Man U Accepts Bid for Ronaldo - "Manchester United have confirmed they have accepted a bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Manchester United give Cristiano Ronaldo permission to speak to Real Madrid following an £80million bid from the Spanish giants. Click to continue reading...

If the latest news is to believed it seems as though Brazilian star Kaka will be joining Real Madrid for a record fee. That is, only if Chelsea (or someone else) do not come back with a counter offer.

Honestly though, what is Real Madrid going to do with another attacking player? After all Los Blancos scored 83 goals in La Liga this year so I cannot help but feel that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

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