Karim Benzema will have to sit out Sunday's derby, Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has announced.
The France international came off with a knee injury in Madrid's Champions League win at Celtic earlier this month and has not featured since.
Ancelotti previously said Benzema could be fit for the derby with Atletico Madrid this weekend, but also noted caution at the time by saying if he did not recover, he would also not be available for the upcoming international break.
With Benzema absent from Didier Deschamps' squad announcement for Les Bleus this week, it seemed unlikely he would feature at the Wanda Metropolitano, which Ancelotti confirmed at his press conference on Saturday, saying: "I'm not saying [who will play up front], Benzema won't be there.
"He has started working individually and will be ready after the [international] break."
Ancelotti also spoke about the recent controversial comments from Pedro Bravo, a senior agent in Spain, on Vinicius Junior.
Bravo appeared on television show El Chiringuito earlier this week, saying Vinicius had to stop dancing when he celebrated a goal, accusing the Brazilian of "playing the monkey".
Bravo has apologised and said he used the wrong expression, insisting he was sorry for causing offence.
"It's something that we don't touch on in the locker room, these are issues that are not normally discussed in the locker room, we usually talk about football," the Madrid boss said.
"Racism is one thing and what happens in football is another thing. We have not touched on this issue of racism because the player has responded very well."
When asked if he had spoken to the player about it, Ancelotti said: "No, because I'm not his father, nor am I his brother. I'm his coach.
"Nothing is wrong with him. He is playing with joy. Vini is joy, happiness."
Madrid have won all eight of their games in all competitions this season and will come up against an Atletico side who suffered a Champions League defeat at Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.
Ancelotti is not underestimating Madrid's local rivals, though.
"It will be a competitive match. They don't expect anything new and it will be a very competitive duel, a good football match, because there are very good players on both teams," Ancelotti said. "The match is open, but there is nothing definitive."
Declan Rice set to leave West Ham after Europa Conference League success
West Ham chairman David Sullivan has confirmed captain Declan Rice will be allowed to leave this summer and he expects to start receiving bids immediately.
The England midfielder said he did not know if he had played his last game for the club after leading them to Europa Conference League glory.
A 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in Wednesday night’s final saw him become only the third Hammers skipper to lift a major trophy, following Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds.
However, Sullivan admits a gentleman’s agreement means they will allow a player who still has two years remaining on his contract – one year plus an option – to leave.
Asked whether lifting the trophy in Prague was Rice’s last action as a West Ham player, Sullivan told talkSPORT: “I think it has to be. We promised him he could go.
“He set his heart on going and in due course he has to get on and we have to get a replacement.
“It is not something we wanted to happen. We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago and he turned it down. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.
“I think the offers will start to come today. Three or four clubs have shown interest but, out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.”
Rice said after the game that it was “not goodbye yet”.
He added on BT Sport: “Look at the moment there’s a lot of speculation about my future.
“There is interest from other clubs, that’s out there, but ultimately I’ve still got two years left at West Ham.
“There hasn’t been nothing yet (offers). Let’s wait and see, who knows.
“I love every minute of it here, you can see the smile on my face.
“It’s not about that tonight, it’s about celebrating and that’s what I’m going to do now.”
Women’s World Cup win would earn England’s players more than £200,000 each
England’s players will earn more than £200,000 each if they win this summer’s Women’s World Cup.
FIFA has set out how a record prize money pot will be distributed for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, with 270,000 US dollars (around £216,000) earmarked for each member of the winning squad.
Every player involved in the tournament is guaranteed to receive at least 30,000 US dollars (just over £24,000), at a time when the average salary in the women’s game worldwide is 14,000 US dollars, according to last year’s FIFA benchmarking report.
World players’ union FIFPRO has praised FIFA “for listening to the voice of players” on the issue of pay, and for ensuring equal conditions in terms of training facilities and transport for players at this summer’s finals compared to the men’s tournament in Qatar late last year.
A group of 150 players from 25 national teams – including players from England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland – had written to FIFA in October last year calling for equal conditions and for a guarantee that at least 30 per cent of prize money would be allocated to players.
Previously, there was no requirement for national associations to distribute a minimum amount of World Cup prize money to participating players.
The overall performance-based fund for the finals is 110million US dollars (£88.1m), more than three times what was on offer at the 2019 World Cup in France, with the players sharing more than 44 per cent of that between them.
“The confirmation of equal conditions and guaranteed per-player performance compensation at next month’s World Cup represents not only the outcome of tremendous global collective action by over 150 national team players, under the umbrella of FIFPRO and its member unions, but a constructive negotiation with FIFA over the past months,” FIFPRO said in a statement.
“They have listened to the voice of the players, and we have taken steps towards greater gender equity in our game at its highest levels. The legacy of this action is by the players, for the players, of both today and tomorrow.”
FIFA is working to make the women’s game self-sustaining, and is understood to be bearing more of the load on prize money compared to sponsors and broadcasters for this year’s tournament than it would like to in the future.
Its president Gianni Infantino has set a target for equal prize money at the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups but insists broadcasters in particular must do more to make this possible.
Broadcast deals in some key markets – including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – are still not agreed. Last month Infantino described some of the offers FIFA had received as “a slap in the face” for the women’s game.
Liverpool sign World Cup-winning Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister
Liverpool have begun the rebuild of their midfield with the signing of Brighton’s World Cup-winning Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister.
A fee has not been disclosed but it is understood the 24-year-old had a release clause – believed to be around £45million – in a contract he only signed in October.
The PA news agency understands the Argentinian has signed a five-year contract.
Mac Allister has been on the club’s radar prior to his move to the Seagulls in 2019 but the club felt his development was still in its early stages, although his versatility to play in several positions was a key factor in their interest.
He was subsequently identified as a key target prior to the winter World Cup in Qatar, in which he played a key part in Argentina’s victory, and Liverpool were keen to secure his services to avoid a bidding war.
Mac Allister’s age and his career appearances (160) fit in with the demographics of some of the club’s most successful signings like Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Roberto Firmino and represent the start of an overhaul of a midfield which lost James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the end of their contracts.
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