All glamour & Galacticos - but Barcelona and Real Madrid's signings could leave them defenceless next season

The biggest names in football have been linked to Barcelona and Real Madrid this summer, and many have arrived.

Chile forward Alexis Sanchez was unveiled at the Catalan club on Monday, while Jose Mourinho's side are currently on tour with a handful of new recruits, including left-back Fabio Coentrao (who is being used in a more advanced role in the United States), winger Jose Callejon, and midfielders Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop. On top of all that, Madrid still hope to bring in a striker, with Neymar, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor all mentioned, while Barca turn their attentions to Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.


But what about the defenders?

Barca's backline was notoriously difficult to breach last season as the Catalans conceded just 21 goals in their 38 league games. Nevertheless, coach Pep Guardiola was forced to shuffle his squad in the absence of defensive leader and lynchpin Carles Puyol. Barcelona lost five games in total last season and Puyol was absent in all of those. His presence lifts the players around him and brings the best out of central defensive partner Gerard Pique. Puyol's troublesome knee injury saw him restricted to just seven games after Christmas - a total of just 377 minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Hat Trick Lifts Real Madrid To 3-0 Win

Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals within a 9-minute span in the second half to lift Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Chivas of Guadalajara in an exhibition soccer match Wednesday night.

Ronaldo, a former world Player of the Year, had been stymied by Chivas goalie Luis Michel in the first half. Michel stopped Ronaldo on a couple of free kicks and a clear opportunity which he hit into the right side of the net in the 39th minute.

However, in the 73rd minute Ronaldo split two Chivas defenders took a pass from Karim Benzema brought it down with his left foot and kicked it with his right past goalie Michel breaking the scoreless tie.

Three minutes later Ronaldo converted a penalty kick when teammate Pepe was taken down by Chivas Omar Arliano.

Ronaldo finished off his hat trick with a blast to the lower right hand corner of the net in the 82nd minute.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Ronaldo scores as Real Madrid beats Galaxy 4-1

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a signature goal and Real Madrid displayed its deft scoring ability to beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-1 in an exhibition on Saturday night.

Jose Callejon and Joselu scored 8 minutes apart in the first half and Karim Benzema converted a header in the 57th minute as the Spanish giants showed little rust in their preseason opener.

Ronaldo, who set La Liga's scoring record with 40 goals last season, entered as a halftime substitute. The Portuguese star used multiple step-over's to fake out three defenders, then fired a sharp shot with his left foot that found its way inside the near post.

David Beckham wore the captain's band for the Galaxy against his former team but failed to make an impact before being removed for a substitute in the 61st minute.

Adam Cristman scored the Galaxy's lone goal, redirecting Antonio Adan's save with a header into the net.

Source: www.google.com

David Beckham excited about Galaxy vs Real Madrid clash

David Beckham is looking forward to facing his former club Real Madrid when the Los Angeles Galaxy host the Spanish giants in a football friendly at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.

Beckham played four seasons with Real Madrid, after he moved from Manchester United in 2003.

“I spent four amazing years at Real Madrid. To go from a club like Manchester United to Real Madrid, it really doesn?t get much better than that in football.

“To be facing Real Madrid for the first time since I left, it’s emotional,” Beckham said. “You get attached to a club, you get attached to people in a club.”

“I’ve got many friends still there, many friends as players and fans and throughout the club as well.”

When these teams met last year in a friendly, Beckham didn’t play, but the Galaxy took a 2-0 lead in front of a massive crowd 89,000 at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.

However, Madrid rallied to win the match 3-2, much to the disappointment of Beckham, who couldn’t play because he was recovering from an injury.

“It was disappointing because you always want to play in those games,” Beckham said. “They?re exciting games, especially in front of a capacity crowd. Hopefully I?ll be good for this one.”

Madrid again is expected to field a strong line up with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso and Mesut Ozil among others.

Source: www.sportingalert.com

Manchester United top Forbes' rich list

Manchester United have been named the world's most valuable sports team, according to Forbes magazine's annual top 50 list.

United, who are currently touring the USA for their pre-season preparations, came top in the list with a value of £1.65 billion. The Red Devils have recently signed sponsorship deals with Aon and Nike worth around £380 million and have accumulated 333 million supporters across the globe.

Seven other football teams made the list, with Real Madrid (5th) and Arsenal (7th) in the top ten.

Despite owner Roman Abramovich's vast personal fortune, Chelsea only came 46th, while Bayern Munich (19th), AC Milan (34th) and Juventus (49th) also made appearances.

Barcelona - widely regarded as the best side in the world - came only 26th in the ranking as their debts held them back despite their worldwide appeal.

The Forbes Top Ten:

1. Manchester United £1.165bn 2. Dallas Cowboys £1.13bn 3. New York Yankees £1.06bn 4. Washington Redskins £960m 5. Real Madrid £900m 6. New England Patriots £850m 7. Arsenal £740m 8. New York Giants £734m 9. Houstan Texans £727m 10. New York Jets £708m.

Source: www.sport.uk.msn.com

Fuming Adebayor returns to training with City

Emmanuel Adebayor has continued his attack on Manchester City, claiming he feels insulted and disrespected for not being taken on their pre-season tour of America.

Adebaylor spent the second half of last season on loan at Real Madrid and spent a portion of the final few weeks of his stay making positive noises about remaining at the Bernabeu.

A deal failed to materialise and he was summoned back for training at Eastlands. But the former Arsenal forward was unhappy to learn that he was being made to train with the reserves while the first team were on tour.

He initially refused to train, but has since had a change of mind and elected to take part in the sessions. This, though, is under sufferance as he is far from happy with the club's stance.

"I don't know what I have done wrong," he is quoted as saying in The Sun. "I get an email, out of the blue, on my holidays telling me I wasn't going on the tour and they told me I am not going to train with the first team.

"It's an insult to me to tell me I am now only fit to train with the reserves.

"I will return to training but I feel I've been let down and disrespected."

Source: www.sport.uk.msn.com

Beckham dreams of Jose link

Los Angeles - David Beckham says playing for Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho would be a "dream."

Mourinho was honored as FIFA Coach of the Year in January, then guided Madrid to a runner-up finish in the Spanish league and a Copa del Rey title over Barcelona.

"To have had the chance to be coached by him, would have been any player's dream," Beckham said on Tuesday. "And of course my dream, as well."

Beckham, who spent four years with Madrid, will play against his former team for the first time since leaving when the Los Angeles Galaxy host the Spanish heavyweights in a friendly on Saturday.

Beckham was with Madrid from 2003-07, helping the club win their last Spanish league title in his final season before joining the Galaxy.

"I spent four amazing years at Real Madrid. To go from a club like Manchester United to Real Madrid, it doesn't really get much better than that in football," Beckham said. "To be facing Real Madrid for the first time since I left, it's emotional. Because you get attached to the club, you get attached to the people at the club."

Real Madrid arrived in Los Angeles late on Monday to begin their pre-season camp in advance of a three-game US tour.

It marks the second consecutive year Madrid have held a camp in Southern California. Mourinho said it's not a coincidence his team is back training under the sunny skies.

"The freedom that we have here is good. In Europe, our lives are socially difficult," Mourinho said. "Here, the players feel some freedom. They can walk in the streets, they can be together and share some time together. It is important for the players to build team spirit."

While Madrid will be easing their way back into form, they will be matched up against a squad that is already in mid-season shape. The Galaxy currently lead the Major League Soccer competition and are unbeaten in 12 straight league games.

Galaxy captain Landon Donovan said his squad is more focused on winning league games than friendlies, but added that the chance to play one of the world's best teams is exciting.

"We're no Real Madrid, we don't play games like this every week," Donovan said. "A lot of our guys will have an incredible experience. And we want to make the most of it. We want to put on a good show."

The showdown will be a rematch from last August when Madrid scored three second-half goals to win 3-2. Beckham was unable to play in the match due to an Achilles injury.

Mourinho relishes the prospect of playing three teams that want to give Madrid more than a tough workout.

"The competition is very good," he said. "They play hard, they play strong, but they play fair. They want to win. They don't want to play a defensive match, like we have sometimes in Europe."

Source: www.sport24.co.za

Neymar for Anzhi Makhachkala?

Roberto Carlos has urged Santos striker Neymar to join him at Anzhi Makhachkala. The 38-year-old joined the Russian Premier League outfit six months ago and club owner Suleyman Kerimov is believed to be willing to meet Neymar's release clause, which stands at around £40 million.


Roberto Carlos has revealed that he has advised Neymar to shun interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid and make a switch to Russia.


Speaking to Russian newspaper Sport-Express, the defender said: "I've already talked to Neymar about this. I told him about Anzhi's project and about the terms Suleyman Kerimov is ready to offer. We now have to wait for the end of the Copa America, when Neymar must decide his future."


Despite the age difference between the players, the former Corinthians man revealed that the two have a close relationship.

"Now I am constantly in touch with Neymar, we call each other every day. He really could sign for us. Now everything is up to him," he said.


Neymar has scored 27 goals in 64 league games for Santos and is currently in Argentina as Brazil seek to defend their Copa America crown.


stay with us as the saga unfolds...