Eden Hazard has no intentions of leaving Real Madrid to follow Gareth Bale to Major League Soccer, insisting "I want to show people that I can play in this club".
Hazard has struggled at Santiago Bernabeu since completing his big-money move from Chelsea in June 2019, with injuries and fitness issues hampering the forward.
The Belgium international was largely a spectator last season, making just seven starts for his 17 LaLiga appearances as Madrid earned European and Spanish glory.
That followed the pattern of a frustrating spell in the Spanish capital, where he has made only 48 appearances in LaLiga for the club – 20 of which have come from the bench.
But the 31-year-old, who has just 10 league goal involvements for Madrid (four goals, six assists), is out to prove a point and show his worth to Carlo Ancelotti's side.
"It's been a few seasons that I was not playing that much, so for me... I just want to show what I can do on the pitch – that's my only target," he told ESPN.
"When you play football, you just want to be on the pitch, and when you are out [of] the pitch... [You think] 'What's happened?' because I was not injured before and so it was something new for me to be injured, so you have to learn.
"It's a way to learn the way you have to do things, your body, you take care [of] in different ways, you work more with physios, this kind of thing. But it's a good challenge now... I'm healthy, so I'm just ready to play.
"It's not that easy, especially when you don't know why you're injured. I've been injured at my time at Chelsea, but not like those three years with Real Madrid.
"I knew that it was something wrong with my body, so that's why I asked to do the surgery at the end of the season last year."
Bale ended his spell with Madrid as he joined MLS side Los Angeles FC at the end of June, aiming to gain fitness and match practice to feature for Wales at the upcoming Qatar World Cup in November.
Hazard has no intentions of moving to the United States to join Bale in the near future, though, with his sole focus on playing for Madrid for at least the next two years.
"I don't think about that that much now, I'm just focused," he said when asked about a transfer to MLS.
"It's been three years [which have been] hard for me, so I'm just focused on this season. I still have a contract after two more years, and then we'll see.
"In two years I'm going to be 33, so let's see what can happen."
Atletico and Sociedad reach agreement over Le Normand transfer
Atletico Madrid have "reached an agreement" with Real Sociedad over the signing of Robin Le Normand.
The Spain defender, who was part of the side that won Euro 2024, will finalise his move to Atleti "in the coming days" for a fee believed to be in the region of €34.5million.
French-born Le Normand started his career with Brest before spending eight years with Txuri-Urdin, for whom he made 221 senior appearances across all competitions, while winning the 2019-20 Copa del Rey.
The 27-year-old is fresh from international success in Germany, where he played in six of Spain's seven matches, while he also helped La Roja win the Nations League last year.
A statement on Atletico's official website read: "Atletico and Sociedad have reached an agreement for the transfer of Le Normand. The deal will be finalised in the coming days when the player returns from his holiday.
Meanwhile, Sociedad wrote on X: "We'll always remember his dedication and gratitude to the colours that have shaped him into the player he is today. Good luck."
Guardiola 'cannot imagine' Man City's Premier League success without Ederson
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's Premier League dominance in recent seasons would not have been possible without Ederson.
The Brazil goalkeeper's future at the Etihad Stadium is uncertain, amid speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Ederson has been an integral figure for City since his arrival from Benfica in 2017, with 112 clean sheets in 250 Premier League appearances under Guardiola, while recording a save percentage of 68.17.
The 30-year-old conceded just 26 goals last season as the Citizens won an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title - and their sixth since he joined the club.
Ederson's distribution has also been crucial to City's success, notably completing 942 of his 1,097 passes last term (85.87%).
"I wish from the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us," Guardiola said. "I would love him to stay.
"I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."
Ederson could feature for City on Saturday when they continue their pre-season tour of the United States against Paulo Fonseca's Milan at the Yankee Stadium.
Ten Hag targets further transfers as Man Utd prioritise squad depth
Erik ten Hag wants more transfer activity ahead of his third season in charge of Manchester United, saying the Red Devils must work to replicate their rivals' strength in depth.
Ten Hag signed a new contract after overseeing United's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, having previously been expected to depart.
Ahead of their first full season under the Jim Ratcliffe regime, United have spent an estimated £88million to acquire forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille.
But after United suffered more injuries causing a player to miss at least one match (45) than any other Premier League team last term, Ten Hag believes more is required.
"I want the squad as strong as possible," Ten Hag told reporters at a press conference ahead of Saturday's friendly versus Arsenal.
"We already made two very good buys, so when everyone is fit we have a team that can beat everyone.
"But also in squad depth, we have to catch up. We know that because when we had injuries, we were vulnerable, and we have to avoid this.
"First, by picking up fewer injuries. And second, our squad has to be that good in depth.
"Of course, we have the quality, but in the depth we have to catch up even more, because this will be a season that is survival of the fittest.
"We proved we can beat the best team. Not just once, we did it twice. Our challenge is to do it consistently, that's what we have to work for."
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