Carlo Ancelotti has been appointed as the manager of Real Madrid. The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, announced his appointment in a press conference yesterday evening.

Ancelotti has replaced Jose Mourinho who left Los Blancos a few weeks back to join the English club Chelsea.

Ancelotti is considered as a brilliant manager by the football pundits. He has had a lot of success in his managerial career so far. He has won the European Cup a couple of times (both with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007). He has also won the domestic leagues in France, Italy and England.
In the last season, Ancelotti was the manager of PSG and he guided them to the Ligue 1 title.
Announcing the appointment of Ancelotti, Perez said, “Carlo is an experienced manager and we are glad to have him here. Hopefully, the club will achieve new levels of success under him.”

Ancelotti himself also looked very happy after his appointment. He said, “I am proud to take charge of the best club in the world. Everything which is needed for success is available here. It will be a great project for me.”

“We remained empty-handed last season, but, I am sure the next season is not going to be like that. We will train hard and win games by playing aggressive football.”

“I have the backing of the chairman and the supporters. So, I think I will have a great time next season.”

When asked about his main target next season, Ancelotti said, “Winning the European Cup will be one of our top priorities next season. The fans have been waiting for it since quite a while and we want to give them a chance to celebrate next season.”

Real Madrid hasn’t won the European Cup after 2002.

The Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has once again said that he would want to lift a major title with the Spanish club this season as well. The Portuguese has been consistently linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu in the last few months, but the 28-year-old has stated that he remains committed to the contract as ever.

Ronaldo remains as one of the major attacking Real Madrid despite the presence of players like Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema, and Gonzalo Higuain. However, he has been linked with Paris St Germain and several clubs including a return to Manchester United after stating that he feels unhappy at Real Madrid.

For now, though, winning trophies at the Santiago Bernabeu remains his major priority according to the player. Even though Madrid will not be able to lift the league title after falling more than 15 points behind leaders Barcelona, they still have the chance to lift the 2 cup competitions on offer – Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Ronaldo was at a ceremony where he was awarded the Africa Di Stefano trophy. This trophy is handed out to the top player of the previous season by the Spanish newspaper Marca. Ronaldo helped Real Madrid win the league title last season.

“Much remains. We are in the cup final and we have taken a major step in the Champions League. The league is difficult but we must fight to the end. Things personally with me are going well but what I want is to win a major trophy with Madrid. It is an honour to receive this award from the hands of Alfredo Di Stefano and I want to thank everyone,” said the 28-year-old. Ronaldo has already scored 27 league goals this season, but he remains way behind Lionel Messi’s tally of 42.

The former Chelsea and FC Porto defender Ricardo Carvalho may be out of his way at the Spanish club Real Madrid after being linked heavily with the Italian club AC Milan in the last few weeks. The 34-year-old defender joined the Spanish club Real Madrid in a £ 5 million deal only a few seasons ago.

This move reunited him with his former manager José Mourinho. However, he has been unable to figure in the first-team plans of the Portuguese manager this time around due to a number of issues. He has suffered a lot of injuries in recent times, while Sergio Ramos has also started playing as a central defender.

This has limited the opportunities in the first-team for Carvalho, who has grown frustrated of being a substitute. He was heavily linked with a season long loan deal to the Premier league club QPR only for the move to fall through at the final stage. Now, he has been linked with the Italian club AC Milan, who was in desperate need of a high profile and experienced defender. The departure of Thiago Silva to the French club Paris St Germain in the summer has compounded the defensive problems for the club, who are struggling to make it into the Champions League next season.

Hence, they will be making a move for the Real Madrid defender due to the fact that he is now available. Selling the 34-year-old will also represent a good move from the Spanish club because he is one of the high earners at the club with wages of around € 5 million per year. The player has not yet commented about the possibility of moving from Real Madrid. Carvalho has won all the major titles in the world including the Champions league with his former club FC Porto.

The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that he would welcome the former winger Cristiano Ronaldo with open arms, but has noted the possibility of the deal ever been a reality. The Portuguese winger left Manchester United for Real Madrid back in the summer of 2009 for a world record transfer fee of £80 million, which still stands today.

However, his career at the Santiago Bernabeu has not been at the same level as it was at Old Trafford. During his time at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo not only won numerous honours like the Champions League medal, but also individual accolades like the FIFA world player of the year award.

However, since moving to Real Madrid, he has lifted just the league title last season. He recently revealed that he is not happy at the club due to professional reasons, which sparked interest amongst various clubs across Europe. Speaking recently after the 1-0 defeat at the hands of Norwich, the Manchester United manager praised the Portuguese international by saying that his presence would have given United the win in the match. He also said that he would be interested in bringing the 27-year-old back to Old Trafford, although doubted the feasibility of the deal due to his transfer value.

“I don’t think it will happen but I would like to think it would. You’re talking about incredible amounts of money now. What would his value be? He’s a fit boy, he’s never injured and he never misses a game. He always wanted to play for Real Madrid. That was his boyhood dream and he’s got that but I’m not saying he’s staying there forever. There’s every chance he might leave, you never know. He’s definitely unbuyable. Who could afford him?” said Sir Alex Ferguson in a recent interview.

The manager of Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho, got annoyed when he was asked about the so called ‘sadness’ of Cristiano Ronaldo. Mourinho said that Ronaldo is playing as well as ever and that is the most important thing for the team management.

Ronaldo had scored two goals in the match against Granada, but, he didn’t celebrate those goals. After the match, the Portuguese superstar told the reporters that he was sad and that’s why he didn’t celebrate. As per Ronaldo, his sadness has nothing to do with the money that he is getting from the club. He is sad due to some other reason and the club knows about that reason.

There have been speculations that Ronaldo wanted his wages to be increased up to the levels that Fernando Torres is reportedly getting, but, the club didn’t agree to it. This is the reason for him being unhappy with the club. Ronaldo said that these speculations are completely wrong and he is satisfied with his current wages. Ronaldo is currently earning 13.82 million dollars per year.

According to some reports, Ronaldo met the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, on Saturday and told him that he wanted himself to be released as he had not been enjoying himself in Madrid’s dressing room. However, Ronaldo hasn’t yet confirmed that he met the president.

Ronaldo said that he is upset, but, he would not let that affect his performance on the field. His commitment to the club is still the same. He wants to win more and more matches for the club in the ongoing season and he would give his 100% in the further matches.

Jose Mourinho said that he didn’t know why Ronaldo is sad and he doesn’t want to be asked this question again and again. He wants to talk about the performance of the team and nothing else. He is delighted with the way Madrid played against Granada and he is expecting the players to carry on in the same fashion.

The former Argentina manager Alfio Basile has said that Cristiano Ronaldo might be a great player, but he is easily overtaken by the Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. Alfio Basile reckons that one of the main attributes that makes Cristiano Ronaldo hugely successful is his incredible speed. However, the Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has the ability to run at a much higher speed with the ball at his feet rather than without it. This incredible phenomenon has made the Argentine superstar incredibly successful over the past five seasons. He has said that it will be until a few more years before Cristiano Ronaldo can reach the records set by Lionel Messi.

The Portuguese attacker managed to lift the la Liga title from hands of Lionel Messi last season. He scored a quite spectacular 60 goals in all competitions, but Lionel Messi once again managed to go one better than him scoring 73 goals. Alfio Basile reckons that the difference between the two players will exist as long as they continue to play at the top level because of the skills of Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA world player of the year award once in his career, but Lionel Messi has managed to lift this trophy in three successive occasions.

“You cannot compare anyone to Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is a great human player, but Messi is a Martian. He can run with the ball at an even higher speed than without the ball. It’s as if he’s playing another sport. It’s nearly impossible to do the things he does at that speed. He just keeps getting better and is always improving. Pele was an absolute monster and had a fantastic physique. Maradona was another genius and better in tight spaces. Diego was the team’s leader, whereas Pele was more of an individual player,” said Alfio Basile.

After an amazing season with Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo was certainly not everyone’s favourite to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or award this season. The FIFA Ballon d’Or award is not given to the most exemplary individual, but to the player who is most successful during a season.

In the last few seasons, Lionel Messi has been able to dominate the award before being extraordinary personally, while he also had numerous trophies to his credit. However, Cristiano Ronaldo will be going into the FIFA Ballon d’Or award ceremonies this season with only the league title to his credit.

The Euro 2012 also did not appear to do him any favours initially, but after getting Portugal to the semifinals of the competition almost single-handedly, Ronaldo now has jumped ahead of everyone else to win his second FIFA Ballon d’Or award. The former Manchester United winger, who played alongside Wayne Rooney, last tasted success in this competition when he was a Manchester United player prior to moving to Real Madrid.

Since his arrival at the Spanish club, his trophy cabinet has not grown significantly. However, he has helped Real Madrid snatch the league title from the clutches of Barcelona for the first time in four seasons, which he thinks as a major achievement.

“The theme of the Ballon d’Or is something very relative. I am not the one that votes and everyone has their opinions, but I am going to be sincere, I think I am very well positioned to be able to win it or at the very least be there or thereabouts. I have had a phenomenal season. For me it is clear that I and other players of Real Madrid deserve to be nominated,” said Ronaldo prior to the start of the Euro 2012. After scoring three goals in the last two matches, he is now the favourite to win the award.

Real Madrid manager José Mourinho has said that leading the club to the Spanish league title has been the biggest achievement of his managerial career. José Mourinho was brought to Real Madrid in the hope of ending the dominance of Barcelona.

He has managed to do exactly that after reclaiming the title from the Camp Nou after three years. This is the first league title for Real Madrid since 2008. José Mourinho has also managed to guide Real Madrid to the semifinals of the Champions League in the last two seasons, which is a major achievement considering that the club has been knocked out in the last 16 stage on numerous occasions prior to his arrival.

Real Madrid clinched the Spanish league title after 3-0 win over athletic Bilbao, which many saw as one of the toughest games of the season for Real Madrid in their attempt to close the title from Barcelona. Now, Real Madrid have the opportunity to become the first team to break the 100 point barrier when it comes to the total tally. Barcelona currently hold the record with 99 points, but Real Madrid can now take that record by winning the remaining two matches in the league. José Mourinho has now won league titles in all the four countries he has managed.

“I won the league title in Portugal, Italy and England, but this one has been the toughest. I’ve won seven league titles overall and I know what it feels like. Barcelona won all their games, as befits the great team that they are. They’ve been winning to the very last day. They are a club with great tradition that knows we deserved to win this title. We have to celebrate this championship (but then) we have to continue working,” said José Mourinho after winning the title.

Despite losing the most important match of the season – the El Clasico – Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas defended the performances of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo was caught overconfident in certain situations and was the culprit of missing two major chances, which would have been enough for Real Madrid to draw with Barcelona. As it is, they lost the match 3-1, a result that puts Barcelona top of the la Liga standings as they head into the crucial Christmas fixture list. Barcelona will not be playing in this period because they will be in Japan for the Club World Cup.

Real Madrid have not beaten Barcelona in recent seasons, but they have the opportunity to do so straight from the kick-off itself. Karim Benzema scored within 23 seconds and this gave Real Madrid the fastest goal in the El Clasico history. Despite this, Barcelona continued to attack with venom and they equalised through Alex Sanchez.

They took the lead through Xavi shortly afterwards, but in between the two incidents, Cristiano Ronaldo had the opportunity to put Real Madrid back in front. However, he missed the goal glaringly and he immediately went down on his knees with frustration. A similar incident happened in the second half when the Portuguese star could have brought back the things back on level terms with the opportunity to equalise with a free kick.

However, he put the ball glaringly over the bar and the promising situation was wasted. “We all have to play at 120 per cent, not just Cristiano. We’re a team and criticism is directed to all of us. We were unlucky, but we shouldn’t use excuses. It was easier for them to play when they were leading 3-1, and it was consequently harder for us, with our lines separated and the match being so open,” Casillas said after the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one among the three players short-listed for the Ballon d’Or award given out every season. This is one of the most prestigious awards given out in the season and Cristiano Ronaldo has been nominated for this award due to the impressive form he has shown in the current year.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or award during various stages of his career and has also won this award during his Manchester United days. He is, however, yet to win the trophy as a Real Madrid player mainly because of the dominance of Lionel Messi in recent seasons.

Lionel Messi is once again amongst the compatriots for the award along with his Barcelona teammate Xavi. Messi has won the award two times in the last three years. He has won it in 2009 and in 2010. He is once again the favourite for the title this season as well having won the Champions League with Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, has not been able to lift any major trophies with Real Madrid, and is expected to lose out to his Barcelona compatriot. However, Cristiano Ronaldo has won this award back in 2008, while he came extremely close to winning it in 2007 and 2009.

“It’s great to win individual awards, especially the prestigious ones, but what comes first for me is winning matches and titles.” Messi said. “It’s great to be again nominated as one of the Fifa Ballon d’Or final three contenders,” Cristiano Ronaldo said on his Twitter account. The winner of this award will be announced by FIFA on January 9th. A number of journalists and coaches will be joining together to vote for this award. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 53 goals for Real Madrid this calendar year.