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- "The fixture was a curious one: the multi-millionaires of Real Madrid taking on AFC Bournemouth whose only previous known connection with European football aristocracy is their red and black stripes – a homage to Milan's kit."
That's the opening of Steven Morris's excellent Guardian recap of yesterday's convincing 6-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth. As diehard Los Blancos fans some of us may occasionally take the club's aura and mystique for granted since we are already true believers under its regal sway, but reading the comments from Bournemouth supporters in that piece really provides perspective about the special nature of Real Madrid.
- The Telegraph also produced an interesting match recap, noting that fans came from as far away as Japan to see yesterday's friendly. The paper also reported that Madrid received an eye-popping £750,000 performance fee to play the Championship side on a lovely summer evening. Nice piece of business, that.
- The Independent has that fee at a cool one million.
- Real Madrid.com happily noted that all of the squad's summer reinforcements featured in and contributed to yesterday's victory.
- Echoing Carlo Ancelotti all the way from Kuala Lumpur while also continuing to expertly troll David Moyes, former boss Jose Mourinho made news by backing Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at Madrid.
Alright, let's talk.