ON FORM NOW
Thibaut Courtois had a
difficult start to life in
Madrid, but now the Belgian
goalie seems to have
found his form. Besides
his trustworthy hands, the
former Chelsea man showed
off some exquisite footwork
in Real Madrid training as
he mercilessly nutmegged
Brazilan sensation Vinicius
Jr. While the youngster was
left embarrassed by Courtois’
nifty skills, Luca Modric and
Marcello didn’t let go of the
opportunity to mock the
19-year-old.GIF-T STORE
Real Madrid have teamed up with giphy.com to create official GIFs. From
Casemiro's selfie GIF to Toni Kroos' 'Demand Glory' GIF, they've got you covered.
Real Madrid had the most visitors of any football team to their club website in 2019
and they said that this is all part of their digital transformation.
MIC FOR LIUS
Luis Figo returned to the
Bernabeu in an official
capacity for the first time
since leaving Real Madrid
in 2005 for Inter Milan, this
time as a commentator for
Spanish television. The former
Portugal captain, who was
the first Galactico and spent
five years at Real Madrid after
completing a controversial
then-world record move from
Barcelona in 2000, was by
broadcaster DAZN to lend his
thoughts to the Copa del Rey
quarter-final clash between
Zinedine Zidane’s side and
Real Sociedad.
DUKES OF URL
Real Madrid's website is, for the fourth consecutive year, the football club with the
greatest number of visits. They are ahead of Liverpool and Barcelona by double.
They have 2,006,000 unique users visit their site on a monthly basis. Liverpool,
second in the rankings, had 863,000 unique visitors. Barcelona are in the third place
with 812,000 unique visitors according to Comscore, an interest measurement
firm. Manchester United, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Tottenham, PSG and
Manchester City round out the top ten.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Cristiano Ronaldo turned 35 on
February 5 and among the innumerable
congratulations from the world of football
and beyond was a message from Real
Madrid president Florentino Pérez:
“Congratulations to the best player in the
world, we think about you a lot.” Pérez
sent his birthday message - via Portuguese
newspaper Record - to the player who was
at Real Madrid for nine seasons.SUCH A BRICK
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane
revealed why the squad decided to give
Ferland Mendy a brick as a present in their
Secret Santa Christmas party. The 2018
World Cup winner said they jokingly gave
Mendy a brick because the 24-year-old
is always serious in training and never
hesitates to commit to hard tackles on his colleagues.KOBE TRIBUTE
On Sunday 26 January 2020 the sporting
world and beyond were shocked to learn of
the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Ahead
of the Madrid derby, the players of Los Blancos
and the Rojiblancos lined up on the centre
circle to pay their respects. The basketball
star leaves behind his wife Vanessa and three
other children, while the tributes flooded in
as soon as the news had been confirmed.
Kobe had connected with many sports stars
during his glittering career and after it, and a
number of the footballers involved in the game
at the Santiago Bernabeu had been close to
him. Madrid captain Sergio Ramos was one
of those, and he stared into the sky as the
moving tribute was made.FAMILY TIES
Edinson Cavani could still move to Atletico
Madrid if the club president Enrique Cerezo
apologizes for his comments after the Madrid
derby about the greed of the Uruguayan's
family and those close to him, says Cavani’s
mother. Atletico failed with a late bid after
weeks of trying to convince PSG to sell the
Uruguayan. Reports suggested his agent and
brother, Walter, asked for a bonus to make
the deal happen. Cerezo hinted at that with
his comments but Mrs. Cavani says it's not
true.THE WRONG
MOVE?
Former Real Madrid forward
Rafael van der Vaart believes
that Joao Felix made the
wrong decision when moving
to Atletico Madrid last
summer. The 127-million-euro
signing hasn't lived up to the
expectations that greeted his
arrival from Benfica. Vaart
pointed out that Joao needs a
different style of play to stand
out, he needs the ball at his feet
to mark the rhythm of the game,
whereas Diego Simeone's teams
don't have possession.I CAN LEAVE,
YOU KNOW
Barcelona star Lionel
Messi will retire at the club,
according to Pep Guadiola.
Messi has a clause in his
current contract - which is
the most lucrative in global
football - which allows
him to leave on a free
transfer at the end of each
season, should he wish to
do so. That has sparked
alarm in the Catalan
capital following the
32-year-old’s comments
on Instagram, where he
was heavily critical of the
club’s sporting director Eric
Abidal.GO SOUTH, YOUNG
MAN
Unai Emery believes Paris Saint-
Germain striker Kylian Mbappe
must move to La Liga to realize his
potential. Emery managed Mbappe
in the French capital and the former
Arsenal boss believes the striking
sensation must move to Spain if he is
to become the world’s best player.DIEGO SHOPPING
OFTEN?
Atletico de Madrid boss Diego Simeone is the highest paid Coach
in world football, according to a report in L’Equipe. The French
newspaper details the salaries of the world’s highest paid Coaches,
with Simeone earning a whopping €43.6m per year - €20m more than
any other boss in the sport.WILL HE STAY?
Jorge Valdano has encouraged
Martin Odegaard to remain at
Real Sociedad for the entirety of
his two-year loan spell from Real
Madrid, telling Spanish radio that
the midfielder could endanger his
development if he returns to Los
Blancos too early. Speaking to
Onda Cero after Odegaard scored
against Madrid to help knock
his parent club out of the Copa
del Rey, former Bernabeu player
and coach Valdano insisted the
Norwegian attacking midfielder
needs to stay at Sociedad for
one more season to complete his
progress.BY^ THE^
NUMBER
SLionel Messi
made his 416th La
Liga start during
Barca’s away trip
to Real Betis.
No other player
born outside of
Spain has had
more starts in the
competition.
After matchday
23, 4 out of 12
goals conceded
by Real Madrid
at Santiago
Bernabéu this
season in all
competitions
have been scored
by Real Madrid's
former or loaned
away players
(Borja Mayoral,
Willian José, Pablo
Sarabia & Martin
Odegaard).
After matchday
23, Sevilla have
lost more points
( 8 ) than any other
La Liga team in
the last 15 minutes
of matches this
season.