Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse is happy with life in the North East, but wants to secure a move to Spanish champions Real Madrid at some point in the future, ESPN Soccernet reports.

The Senegalese international has proved to be a magnificent signing for Alan Pardew’s side, scoring 13 goals in 13 games following his £10m January move from Freiburg. With the Magpies in the hunt for a Champions League place, the addition of Cisse to the squad has provided an extra goalscoring threat and Newcastle defender Danny Simpson has likened the striker to former Newcastle hero
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Real Madrid are focused on winning both the Champions League and La Liga, according to defender Raul Albiol.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash against Valencia, his former club, the defender insisted there is a great atmosphere in the dressing room at the Santiago Bernabeu and that the team is committed to building on some outstanding performances this season and achieving the double.

His remarks come less than two weeks after Coach Jose Mourinho shunned the media in response to criticism over his team’s highly publicised indiscipline in a Liga encounter a
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A report in Marca claims Málaga are monitoring Nuri Sahin’s situation at Real Madrid following the Turkish midfielder’s lack of playing time this season.

The former Borussia Dortmund player has already been linked with a return to the Westfalenstadion after struggling to make an impact on his return from a knee injury, which he was suffering from when he signed for Los Blancos, and has seen just 24 minutes of first-team action this term.

The Costa del Sol club have become the latest to enquire about his availability for the 2012-13 season, according to M
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Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita has revealed in an interview with L’Equipe that he was very close to signing for eternal rivals Real Madrid before his move to the Camp Nou in May, 2008.

The Mali international, scorer of the winning goal in his country’s 2-1 defeat of Botswana on Tuesday to qualify for the African Nations Cup quarter-finals, was with Sevilla at the time but says he had given Barcelona his word and eventually moved in a deal worth €14m.

“Barcelona had come off the back of three difficult years,” explained Keita, “and a lot of people had advised
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Saturday, January 21 (All times UK)

17.00

Estadi Cornella El-Prat, Barcelona

Granada have won just one of their last five league games whilst Espanyol, who reduced a two-goal deficit to defeat Mirandes in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, have only lost one in five, including a 1-1 draw with Barcelona.

The Catalan side are without Sergio Garcia, Alvaro Vazquez and Walter Pandiani for the weekend’s clash as all three are injured. Centre-back Borja Gomez, who is on loan from Ukrainian side Karpaty Lviv, could make his debut for
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According to Sport.es Atlético Madrid are set to compete with Espanyol in the winter transfer market for the services of Ajax striker Mounir El Hamdaoui. The Moroccan international has been strongly linked with the Catalans recently but Atleti have now entered the reckoning as boss Gregorio Manzano looks to strengthen his attacking options.

Despite the high-profile €40m signing of Radamel Falcao from Porto in the summer, Manzano recognises he still has a problem in front of goal with his team having scored just eight from seven league games, all of them coming in two success
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According to tuttomercato Chelsea are ready to return to Atlético Madrid for Diego Godín after having an offer for the Uruguayan central defender rejected in the summer.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is understood to have made the 25-year-old his priority after deciding Brazilian international Alex does not figure in his long-term plans.

Godín was signed from Villarreal on a five-year contract in August, 2010 for a fee of €8m after having his best season with the Yellow Submarine, scoring three goals in 36 games. The holder of 47 Uruguayan caps after making h
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Metro Online reports that Arsenal are ready to strengthen their defence before the transfer window closes on August 31 with a bid for Real Madrid center-back Raúl Albiol, who could be available for a cut-price €10m.

The 25-year-old, signed from Valencia for around €15m in June, 2009 to become Florentino Pérez´s first Spanish signing on his return to the presidency, has since fallen down the pecking order at the Santiago Bernabéu. Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe and new €10m acquisition from Lens, Raphael Varane, have all jumped ahead of him in the pecking order, with regular right-bac
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Porto´s Radamel Falcao has signed for Atlético Madrid as replacement for Sergio ´Kun` Aguero in a deal which will net the Portuguese club €40m plus a €7m add-on bonus, provided Los Rojiblancos win either the Champions League or La Liga within the next four years. Midfielder Ruben Micael has also been signed from Porto for a €5m fee but has immediately gone on a season-long loan to Real Zaragoza.

The Falcao deal was made official before Atlético´s 2-0 Europa League defeat of Vitoria Guimares on Thursday when it was announced on the video scoreboards at the Vicente Calderón. It b
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Atlético Madrid boss Gregorio Manzano is working overtime to sign a striker as the club prepares for the Europa League clash with Vitoria Guimares on August 18. With Diego Forlán having gone on holiday until August 15, giving him just three days to prepare to face the Portuguese side, Manzano has only one recognised frontman available in Spanish Under-21 international Adrián, and is urgently seeking to strengthen his attacking options with the league season also about to commence.

Brazilian youngster Diego Costa is already ruled out for six months after suffering a cruciate lig
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