Real Madrid Confirm James Rodriguez Signing

Real Madrid have confirmed the signing of Monaco midfielder James Rodriguez on a six-year deal.

The 23-year-old Colombian underwent a medical with the European champions earlier today before joining the club for a fee believed to be in the region of £60m.

He is due to be presented to the Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabeu this evening.

Rodriguez had been linked with a number of clubs across Europe following a string of impressive performances for Colombia at the World Cup.

The youngster finished the tournament as the Golden Boot winner with six goals to his name, though Colombia failed to get past the quarter-finals.

Rodriguez leaves Monaco following just one season with the Ligue 1 club.

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Ancelotti: “We're Delighted For The Fans"

"I have had a fantastic group of players who have always been professional and they showed that in this match too", he declared.

Real Madrid won La Décima in Lisbon in a thrilling match that was decided in extra time. Carlo Ancelotti stated that they won “a cup that is very important for Real Madrid. We're very proud of having won this for all Madrid fans. Happiness is giving happiness to those who always follow us. The fans are very happy and that makes us happy".

"The other finals were very difficult and this one was too. It has been a very good season. The first year we tried to change and I have had a fantastic group of players who have always been professional and they showed that in this match too. Not only those who were delighted to be playing, but also those who were not playing. We've worked hard this season to achieve this".

The key moment 

"The most difficult thing was equalising because we really had to dig deep to do that. We didn't have any space and Atlético defended very well. We gave our all and in the end we managed to equalise. Then the match changed because of our desire. The goal gave us strength".

Message to the squad at half-time 

"At the end of the first half I told them to play faster and look for more ideas up front. In extra time I decided to attack on the wings because we created a lot of problems when we played there".

Added time 

"I don't think five minutes was a lot of added time, there were a lot of stoppages in the second half. In the end you could say I was a lucky man, but the truth is that we gave our all until the last second of the match".

    "WE'VE WON THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPETITION IN THE WORLD".

"It's been a great season. Perhaps our quality dropped off after the semi-finals against Bayern, but I can only thank these players, who have done fantastic work all year".

Congratulations from Florentino Pérez

"He was very happy and he congratulated us. He congratulated the players, and the club, which has worked so hard, first by signing players and then supporting the team and the manager at all times".

"From the first day when I saw the trophy room in the Bernabéu I said there was one missing and that we would try and get it this year. Now we've done it. I have felt the confidence of the whole club by my side and I think that is why we had the peace of mind that we needed to win the matches".

Simeone 

"I've spoken to him, I congratulated him on La Liga before the match and the same afterwards. I have a lot of respect for a team that fights all the time. Atlético deserved to be in this final, but I think in the end we deserved to win it".

Bale's goal 

"It was very important because he had tried before, but he was unlucky in front of goal. But he turned up when he was needed. All season Gareth has been good and he will be better next year".


Source: realmadrid.com

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PHOTOS: Real Madrid Players Celebrates UCL Win In Grand Style

For the records, Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions league in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2014.

How Super delighted Los Blancos players celebrated the La Decima! See pictures below...

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Los Blancos Wins 2014 UCL, Trash Atletico Madrid 4 - 1

Los Blancos tonight won the 2014 UEFA Champions league final in Lisbon, Portugal, making it their tenth since 2002. The champions league winners had waited for twelve years to achieve this feat which they termed as the "La Decima".

Real Madrid came from a goal down scored by Diego Godin, to beat Atletico Madrid who were literally all over the field making it impossible for Ancelloti's men to see the back of their opponents net.

The game changed when Isco, Morata and Marcelo were introduced in the second half as Sergio Ramos scored the equalizer, thereby raising the morale of his team mates.

During the first half of the extra time, both teams failed to wrap up the game with a goal, but Gareth Bale was lucky enough this time as he was well positioned to head in a cross from Di Maria at the 110th minute which was later followed up by Marcelo's and Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty.

Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal each to land Real Madrid a 4 - 1 victory.

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UCL PREVIEW (FINAL): Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that attacking duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale will be fit to start against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final.

Both had been nursing minor knocks, but after the two most expensive players in the world took part in training this week, Ancelotti has revealed that they will feature against their city rivals.

However, both Pepe and Karim Benzema face a race against time to be fit for the showdown in Lisbon, while Xabi Alonso is suspended.

Atletico Madrid still have doubts over Arda Turan and Diego Costa, despite the pair returning to training in the past couple of days.

Both Turan and Costa were substituted early on in their side's 1-1 draw with Barcelona last weekend, a result that saw them win the La Liga title, but the club remain hopeful that they can feature on Saturday.

Atletico will be looking to win their first European Cup, while Real haven't won the competition since their victory over Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.

Recent form

Real Madrid: WWDDLW

Atletico Madrid: DWWLDD

Possible starting lineups

Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Modric, Khedira, Di Maria; Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema

Atletico Madrid: Courtois; Juanfran, Filipe Luis, Miranda, Godin; Gabi, Turan, Tiago, Koke; Villa; Diego Costa

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UCL RESULT: Real Madrid Hold On To Reach Champions League Semi-finals

Real Madrid have survived a strong second leg from Borussia Dortmund to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League, beating the German side 3-2 on aggregate.

The Spanish side had a chance to add to their first-leg advantage early after being awarded a penalty following a handball, but Roman Weidenfeller managed to save Angel di Maria's spot kick.

The keeper's stop seemed to boost the hosts as Marco Reus tried to set up a chance for Henrikh Mkhitayran, while Mats Hummls headed his free kick over.

The midfielder was able to find the target himself though when Pepe tried to head the ball back for Iker Casillas in the Real goal, but Reus got the it first before rounding the visiting keeper to slot into an open net.

The 24-year-old claimed his second shortly before the break, smashing in from a rebound after Robert Lewandowski struck the post.

Gareth Bale had a chance to restore Real's cushion early in the second half, but Weidenfeller punched his strike away.

The La Liga side continued to dominate possession, and had another chance to regain control of the tie when Karim Benzema was set up for Luka Modric, but Hummels made the clearance.

Dortmund almost made the visitors pay for the miss a few moments later when Reus continued to frustrate the Real defence, sliding the ball forward for Mkhitayran, but his shot was kept out by the post.

The Bundesliga side continued to apply to pressure as they try to complete their comeback, but Casillas was able to deny Mkitaryan and Kevin Grosskreutz in the space of two minutes to keep Real ahead on aggregate and secure a place in Friday's semi-final draw.


Source: www.sportsmole.co.uk

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UCL PREVIEW: Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid

Borussia Dortmund have it all to do on Tuesday night when they host Real Madrid for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

The German side were comfortably beaten 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu last week as goals from Gareth Bale, Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo saw Madrid put one foot in the last four.

However, Dortmund may take some inspiration from last season's clash between these teams at the Westfalenstadion when they beat Madrid 4-1 in the first leg of the semi-finals.

The Spanish giants head into the tie in superior form, having won their last three matches. Dortmund have won three of their last six games.

Ronaldo is an injury doubt for the hosts as he nurses a knee problem, while Marcelo and Jese Rodriguez both remain sidelined.

Sebastian Kehl is banned for Dortmund, who are also without Marcel Schmelzer, Ilkay Gundogan and Sven Bender.

Recent form

Dortmund: LWDWLW

Madrid: WLLWWW

Possible starting lineups

Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Hummels, Papastathopoulos, Durm; Grosskreutz, Jojic, Sahin, Reus; Mkhitaryan, Lewandowski

Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Coentrao; Modric, Alonso, Illarramendi; Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale


Source: www.sportsmole.co.uk

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SPORTS: Cristiano Ronaldo To Miss Borussia Dortmund Clash

Cristiano Ronaldo will reportedly be absent for Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund this evening.

The Portuguese captain missed the 4-0 win over Real Sociedad in La Liga at the weekend with a knee injury, which has troubled the attacker in recent weeks.

According to reports in Spain, Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti is not prepared to risk the Ballon d'Or winner in Germany, with his side currently leading 3-0 from the first leg last week.

Ronaldo, who has scored 14 times in eight Champions League games this season, failed to complete a training session on Monday due to the issue.


Source:www.sportsmole.co.uk

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UEFA Champions League Draw #QuarterFinals

BARCELONA VS ATLETICO MADRID
The first tie out is FC Barcelona versus Club Atlético de Madrid – the two teams have never before met in European competition.

REAL MADRID VS BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund met in last season's UEFA Champions League semi-finals, with the Bundesliga side prevailing 4-3 on aggregate.

PARIS SAINT GERMAIN VS CHELSEA
Chelsea FC are unbeaten in their two previous meetings with Paris Saint-Germain, both in the 2004/05 group stage, José Mourinho's first season at Stamford Bridge. The London club won 3-0 in Paris before a 0-0 home draw.

MANCHESTER UNITED VS BAYERN MUNICH
Manchester United FC have met FC Bayern München nine times in total, all in the UEFA Champions League. The English champions have won only one of their four home games against their German counterparts, however, and even that was not enough, a 3-2 victory in the 2009/10 quarter-finals leading to defeat on away goals.

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