Coleman Believes Bale will Stay

Chris Coleman believes Gareth Bale will stay at Real Madrid - and that Wales will benefit from the forward’s decision. The 26-year-old has been linked with a move to Manchester United but Wales manager Coleman is convinced Bale’s future lies with the Spanish side.

Coleman, speaking after the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifying draw in St Petersburg, said: “Gareth will do what he wants to do, he’s good enough to play for any team on the planet but I think he will probably end up staying at Madrid and who would blame him for that?

“There is pressure in playing for Real Madrid but Gareth is one of those players who can handle that. The demands of playing in the Premier League and the demands of playing in La Liga are different. From our point of view we get a fresh Gareth Bale – if he’s in the English Premier League physically it’s more demanding.”

Coleman also rejected claims that Bale’s contribution to Wales is so great that they are effectively a one-man team.

“No one has ever said that to me and anyone who has ever seen us play would not say that. We have a lot of talent in our team, all our success has been down to a team ethic and Gareth fits into that. We are difficult team to play against, we are hard to break down and we have goalscorers and match-winners.

“We have also got a group of 11 players on the pitch who are prepared to defend for their lives. If you look at our record in this European campaign so far we have conceded one penalty and one free-kick. You can’t be a one-man team with a defensive record like that.”

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Wales’ only appearance in the World Cup finals was in 1958, but they were drawn as top seeds in Group D along with the Republic of Ireland, Austria, Serbia, Moldova and Georgia.

Coleman, who added he would focus on qualifying for Euro 2016 in France before thinking about a new deal to take him through to Russia, said: “It’s a long time isn’t it? First and foremost we have got to take care of qualifying for France. After we know our fate with France we can start concentrating on the World Cup but we know it has been a long time since 1958 and we know we have got a lot of work to do in the Euros yet.

“It’s been widely-publicised my contract is coming up at the end of the Euros and we are all just keeping our eye on that tournament because we can’t afford to start thinking too far ahead. There is a lot of work to be done and once we know our fate we can start thinking about everything else.”

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OSM - Gareth Could Bale Out Real Perez

Real Madrid Seeking True Colours

Real Madrid are set to return to their traditional white and purple colours from next season. Following on from several years in which red, green, orange, pink and grey have featured in the club's second strips, Adidas are intent on bringing about a return to the club's classic colours.

At present the discussions about the various models are ongoing, with a final version yet to have been decided on, the idea is for the home kit to be all white with the purple stripes of the Adidas brand, and for the second kit to be completely purple. 

It's a move which will please the Real faithful, who have been slightly unhappy at the various colour changes seen over the last few seasons. 

The return to purple marks the first time since the 2010-11 season that 'Los Merengues' will wear this colour.Purple has historically been the colour to most frequently feature in Real Madrid's second strips. 

It was in purple that 'La Quinta del Buitre' (the five home grown talents from the 1980's) burst onto the scene, that Raúl wore on his bow at La Romareda and in which Christian Karembeu netted the vital goal in Leverkusen en route to the club's seventh European Cup. 

It's a colour which has always gone hand in hand with Real Madrid triumphs. The 2002-2003 side - with Zidane and Ronaldo at the fore - wore purple in some of their games, although they also combined it with a black strip, in a season in which they finished as champions.

Nevertheless, Adidas are also working with Real Madrid on releasing a third kit, which is set to move away from the club's traditional colour scheme, and will be aimed more at being a commercial success.

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Bale Madrid Move Real World Record

Gareth Bale's move to Real Madrid has been confirmed as a world-record transfer - despite Real Madrid's attempt to keep it under wraps.

Real have always maintained in public that the deal which took Bale to the Bernabeu from Tottenham in 2013 was not as big as the one that secured Cristiano Ronaldo's switch from Manchester United in 2009.

The La Liga club said that the Bale deal was worth €91.59million, with Ronaldo's fee eclipsing that at €96million - although the British media have always insisted that the Bale transfer was indeed a world record.

But the finer details of the contract have now been revealed in the Spanish media for the first time, with AS reporting that Bale's fee amounted to €100,759,418 after they opted to pay Spurs in instalments rather than up front.

AS - quoting the football website Football Leaks - also claim that the document detailing the deal, which runs to six pages, specified that Real would issue a press release stating that the price of the deal was €91.59million. It also stipulates that Spurs could not reveal any financial details surrounding the transfer to the media.

In section 16 of the document, Real also declared that they would ensure Bale would not make any negative or derogatory comments about Spurs, the club's chairman Daniel Levy or any of its staff.

The significance of the story might be slightly lost on a British public who had always considered Bale's transfer to be a world record, but in Madrid the revelations are likely to have political repercussions.

It has long been thought that Real's insistence that Bale's fee was not as large as Ronaldo's was part of a concerted effort to appease their talismanic forward.

The Sunday Times journalist Jonathan Northcroft claimed earlier this month that he had been asked not to refer to Bale's transfer fee as a world record in an interview he had conducted with the Wales international.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Real Madrid are a club so worried about image that when I interviewed Bale it was requested to me, 'don't put in the article how much Gareth Bale cost'.

"The reason for that is because it was a world record transfer fee but Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't like to see that someone else cost more than him."

Ronaldo's future at Real remains a matter of intense speculation, with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United both keen to sign him at the end of the season.

Spanish newspaper Marca, meanwhile, say that Bale's fine form this season will be rewarded with a new contract that could keep him at the club until 2021.

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Bale Treble Answers Real Questions

Gareth Bale scored a hat-trick as Zinedine Zidane began his time as Real Madrid manager with a comprehensive win over Deportivo La Coruna.

Karim Benzema claimed his 100th league goal for the club with an early opener in the first game since the departure of previous manager Rafael Benitez.

Bale headed the second and found the bottom corner after the break before sealing his treble with another header.

Benzema hit a fifth to leave Real two points behind league leaders Barcelona.

The inclusion of the attack-minded Dani Carvajal in defence as one of two changes hinted at the way Zidane wants his full-backs to get forward more. He was repaid when the right-back, in for Danilo, set up the first of Bale's goals. And it was the kind of line-up the fans wanted to see.

Bale filled in as an emergency full-back for a short spell in the second half

Zidane was instrumental in Welshman Bale's record-breaking £85.3m move to the Bernabeu from Tottenham in 2013 and he will continue to be a centre-piece of the new manager's plans if he keeps producing displays like this.

Bale did not start off too well, and he should have been flagged offside as Benzema claimed Real's first goal. But from that point, the 26-year-old's contribution was wholly positive.

He departed to a hero's send-off when substituted towards the end, and the look of envy on Cristiano Ronaldo's face conveyed how fine a performance it had been.

The visitors should have taken the lead, and Zidane will have been alarmed at the ease with which his side allowed crosses into their area, especially in the first half. A lack of communication between his centre-backs also needs to be addressed.

Of course any side possessing Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema will score goals but, despite the clean sheet, Real continue to look vulnerable at the other end.

"Whenever you win a match, then the coach can only be happy, and I'm happy. What I liked most of all was the attitude of everyone, those who played and those who didn't.

"Winning 5-0 isn't easy against a side like Deportivo and I'm happy with our first game and our first four days of training."

Real have more than a week to prepare for their next game, when they host struggling Sporting Gijon on 17 January.

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OSM - The Florentino Way

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Zidane Starts the Real Work

Zinedine Zidane took his first training session in charge of Real Madrid today - and was given an immediate insight into what life is like as coach of the world's biggest club.

Around 6,000 Real Madrid fans turned out to watch the Frenchman in action with his squad for the first time.

The squad played on a short pitch before kicking balls into the stands of the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium at Madrid's training grounds.

Cristiano Ronaldo was in attendance along with his fellow galacticos, and was photographed handing Zidane his practice bib.

The club traditionally opens its doors to the first practice session of the year.

Zidane, a legend at Madrid from his playing days, was named as the new manager on Monday when Rafael Benitez was fired midway through his first season, a day after its 2-2 draw at Valencia.

His first game will be on Saturday at home against Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league. Madrid trails leader Atletico Madrid by four points.

The new Real Madrid coach also give his first media interviews.

"I feel great. A coach is never fully prepared, especially one who has never coached. I'm motivated, excited and that is going to stand me in good stead".

Playing style: "It's always been important to play entertaining football here and I think I'm going to continue along that line. Playing a balanced attacking game is crucial. We're going to work in order to do our very best out on the pitch. That's the message".

"The team look excited to me and focused on the job at hand".

"The entire squad are going to be important. James and Isco are two formidable players and they're going to be important to me and everyone else".

Pep Guardiola: 

"I can't be compared to Guardiola. I'm going to do my job as best I can. Guardiola is a remarkable coach but I won't compare myself to him. I didn't as a player and I won't as a coach".

The Champions League: 

"It all becomes very real when you pull on this shirt and winning the Champions League is no less real. I think that winning this competition is, and always will be, a priority here".

"How I treat the players will differ somewhat because these are tried and tested players, but my message will be the same one I gave the players at Castilla. The most important thing is to work hard and remain focused on every game".

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Rafa Returns Home to Madrid

Rafa Benitez is back home in Madrid. The city of his birth and at the club where he started not only his playing career, but also his managerial career. The latter with Real Madrid B in 1993 and now he returns to La Liga after a decade globetrotting. His time filled with stints at Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter and Napoli gathering a number of domestics trophies and the Europa League when Interim Manager at Stamford Bridge. The Champions League the most memorable in Istanbul with Liverpool in 2005. An unimaginable feat that night and proving impossible to repeat so far. But no doubt the mission impossible President, Florentino Perez will be seeking from Rafa this season.

Midway through the preseason Benitez has now gone two friendly games without his team scoring a goal. Even in Oslo against local team Valenega where his side couldn’t squeeze even one past the Norwegian team. A match held in recognition of Martin Odegaard - the youngest player in history to appear in a European Championship qualifying match - and the earliest ever debutant for the senior Norway team. Odegaard was the major revelation in his country's domestic top flight. He featured in 23 of 30 league games and hit five goals. He was also the youngest player ever to make his debut and to score in the Norwegian league.

Gareth Bale continues to prove enigmatic and offering the Spanish media copious opportunities to question whether he has been worth the €100m price tag. Despite a more central role under Benitez, the welsh international has only managed one goal so far. That was against his former club, Spurs, in a friendly in the Far East. Leading to ideal speculation that given the right offer from Old Trafford Madrid might be happy to get their money back. Something far from reality as Benitez is building his midfield to support Bale, with Tony Kross now playing slightly more forward. Supported by Luka Modric and James Rodriguez. The relationship with Manchester United not at its best as David DeGea seems set to wait another year before a return to the Spanish capital.

Real Madrid will save money by waiting another 12 months to land Manchester United De Gea on a free transfer and offer a £12 million signing-on fee next summer if he sees out the final 12 months of his United contract. That would make up for the smaller contract on offer at the Bernabeu for De Gea, and also represent a far smaller pay-out of the £35m in transfer fees that United want.

For Bale the difficulty is that he's a naturally left sided layer and his success at White Hart Lane was on that flank. The same year he won both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year, and adding the FWA (Football Writer's Association) Player of the Year Award a few weeks later. 

As the new season kick off approaches Sergio Ramos will announce his renewal with Real Madrid on Monday. Bringing to an end an off field battle with Perez and also see the role of the defender increase within the club. Filling the vacuum following the recent enforced departure of Iker Casillas. With a salary increase that makes Ramos the third highest earner at Real Madrid - behind Cristiano Ronaldo and bale. A deal lasting until 2020. Thus securing the centre half partnership with Rafael Varanne for another few years. The duo supported by a contract extension for Portugal international Pepe.

The only other major doubt is Karim Benzema, whose move to Arsenal is a daily story in Spanish sports press as his place upfront has slipped behind Jese. A product of the clubs youth system. Benitez though is adamant that Arsenal haven no chance. Instead has moved to sign someone he knows well and agreed a deal with Internazionale to sign Mateo Kovacic for a fee of €32m with a further €3m in add-ons. 

Late on Sunday a deal was reached for the player, who had attracted Liverpool’s interest earlier in the transfer window. Inter have always maintained that the player would not leave for less than €35m, a fee the Premier League club was not prepared to pay.

The 21-year-old’s agent, Mario Mamic, has agreed a package with the Spanish club and the transfer is set to go through after the player signs his contract on Monday and has his medical this week. The midfielder, who models his game on Andrés Iniesta’s, joined Inter from Dinamo Zagreb in 2013 and has scored five goals in 80 league games for the Milan club.

The Inter manager, Roberto Mancini, said on Sunday: “We need to sell Mateo because of Financial Fair Play. We are sorry because he is a good player but those are the rules. Now we can try to sign some other players.”

Real Madrid play Galatasaray on Tuesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu and start the season in front of their home fans.

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Madrid Really United Says Bale

Real Madrid are a "united" club despite a difficult few weeks on and off the pitch, says Wales forward Gareth Bale.

Rafael Benitez's side lost heavily to Barcelona last month before being expelled from the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.

However, they are just four points behind leaders Barca after a 4-1 win over Getafe on Saturday.

"What matters most is that the team are united, that we win games and try to get better every day," said Bale.

Bale scored in the win over Getafe, the Wales international's fourth La Liga goal of the season.

It was Real's first game since they were expelled from the Copa del Rey for fielding ineligible Russian winger Denis Cheryshev against third-tier Cadiz last Wednesday.

Last month Benitez, who was only appointed in the summer, received the backing of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez following his side's 4-0 defeat by Barcelona.

Speaking about his own form this season, Bale added: "Personally speaking, I feel comfortable with where I'm being played on the pitch and I always do the best I can.

"It's nice to score but the most important thing is the team. I have a good relationship with Rafa Benitez."

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