Real Madrid manager Rafael Benitez brushed off rumors of making a bid for David de Gea and said he was confident Sergio Ramos would stay at his club after watching his side beat Inter 3-0 in Guangzhou on Monday.
Real’s Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo put on a scintillating first-half show, James Rodriguez capped a brief cameo with a stunning goal, and Jese and Raphael Varane also scored either side of the break.
However, Benitez again had to field questions about the transfer rumor mill before he could praise his players after a thumping win in the International Champions Cup.
Photo: AFP
Manchester United earlier on Monday signed Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero, ramping up speculation that Spain’s De Gea would head back to his home nation, possibly in a deal involving Real captain Ramos going the other way.
“De Gea?” said Benitez when asked about the rumors by reporters. “All I know is we scored three goals and I am very happy.”
Benitez added that Ramos had met Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in Guangzhou on Monday and reiterated his belief that the defender would sign a new contract soon.
Photo: AFP
“I asked Perez how the meeting with Ramos went on Sunday after dinner. He told me both parties were optimistic. I am optimistic,” Benitez said.
On the field, it was the display of the modern-day Galacticos Ronaldo and Bale that are likely to live long in the memory of the almost 40,000 fans who packed the Tianhe Stadium and left Benitez purring.
“The players’ attitude has been very good pre-season,” Benitez said. “To score three and not concede shows the hard work is paying off. It was a fantastic performance. Very good in front of goal.”
Photo: Reuters
Real Madrid next travel on to Shanghai where they face Inter’s city rivals AC Milan tomorrow.
However, Inter are left to reflect on a miserable China tour, where they failed to score a single goal in losing all three matches.
“Obviously the results have not been positive, but the main thing is to see a performance and we have got better as a team with every game,” Inter manager Roberto Mancini said.
Hotshot Mauro Icardi, Serie A’s joint top scorer last season, is soon to be partnered up front by Stevan Jovetic, who arrived in Milan on Monday to complete the formalities of his move from Manchester City.
“I am not worried that we have not scored because I am sure that Inter will step up when it matters. Jovetic is a different forward to Icardi and [Rodrigo] Palacio, and will be an important player for us,” Mancini added.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but