Real Madrid

Having watched Moussa Sissoko appear, and even using that word is a stretch, for Newcastle United on 37 different occasions in the Premier League last season, you could say that his performances for France at the European Championship left me feeling a little salty.

Billed as a box-to-box midfield engine that can grab games by the scruff of the neck, which he’s done on a couple of occasions on Tyneside, his abject performances for the Toon throughout 2015-16 made his Euro something like a slap in the face to Newcastle fans.

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Real Madrid training on Wednesday with his fitness still a major concern for Real supporters. Ronaldo injured his knee during Portugal’s Euro 2016 final victory over France, and there’s still no firm timetable for his return.

Real Madrid narrowly escaped Sevilla in extra time of the UEFA Super Cup. Dani Carvajal's excellent individual goal ensured we got a great start to the season and also didn't have to watch a penalty shootout.

Marco Asensio introduced himself to Real Madrid fans with a rocket to open the scoring.

Asensio with an absolute screamer! pic.twitter.com/iNFQGXTNUB

The injury that forced Cristiano Ronaldo to withdraw from the Euro 2016 final may cause him to miss Real Madrids opening La Liga match against Real Sociedad. With the game coming on the 21st of August, Ronaldo is a major doubt for Los Blancos.

Ronaldo has been given an extended break following his exertions in France, but the forward would’ve been unable to train with Real even if he’d wanted to. Ronaldo sprained his left knee in the final against France, and there’s no confirmed date for his return.

It’s the question that has plagued Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane throughout his time in charge of the club: What’s the deal with James Rodriguez? Does the French coach even rate the Colombian playmaker?

Following a season in which James only appeared in 26 La Liga games for the club, his lowest total since arriving in 2014, would James be shown the door this summer? The player has continued to excel for Colombia on international duty, where he's the focal point of the attack, but he's taken a back seat in Zidane's preferred 4-3-3 formation at Real. 

105,826 crowded into Michigan Stadium, better known as “The Big House”, to get a glimpse of Real Madrid and Chelsea stars like Marcelo, Oscar, Eden Hazard and James Rodriguez. At the end of they day, they were all talking about Real Madrid’s 22-year-old Dominican forward Mariano Diaz Mejia, simply known as Mariano.

Marcelo put in a man of the match performance, and Eden Hazard scored two wonderful late goals for the Blues, but Mariano’s goal was absolutely world-class.

Real Madrid reserve forward Jese has begun a music career with the release of his debut single "Yo Sabia." There is an accompanying music video. It features someone named (I swear to God) “De La Ghetto.”

Warning to discerning readers: there is a butt.

This is not a music video. This is a cry for help.

17-year-old phenom Martin Odegaard’s standing with the Real Madrid first team just became that much more confusing. The latest reports from the Santiago Bernabeu allege that Real Madrid club president Florentino Perez has forced manager Zinedine Zidane to include Odegaard in the club’s pre-season tour against Zidane’s wishes.

Well this is awkward. Barcelona and Real Madrid have gone and turned up in the same shirt.

The La Liga winners and the Champions League winners both unveiled their away kits for the upcoming season last week, and it looks like they got the same person to design them and he didn't feel like making two jerseys so he just made one and gave it to both teams.

Nike (Barcelona) and Adidas (Real Madrid) really should have checked with each other before making the new kits.