Football Mag

Christian Eriksen might end up in the Spanish capital after all, but it's Atletico Madrid who are now linked with a move for the Dane should they not be able to finalise a move for James Rodriguez this summer. The Colombian is the priority, but the Tottenham playmaker is a Plan B worth considering and one that hasn't been ruled out. It has to be remembered that although James himself is open to moving to the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano, a move can only happen if Real Madrid are willing to negotiate with their cross-city rivals and agree an affordable deal, with Napoli now seemingly priced out. Fearing that Madrid will ask for too much, Diego Simeone, Miguel Angel Gil Marin and Andrea Berta have put the possibility of the Danish international on the table. Eriksen is determined not to extend his Spurs contract, which ends in 2020, and has been on Los Blancos' radar for some time, but Zinedine Zidane doesn't want him in his squad.

Atletico Madrid have reported Barcelona to La Liga as they continue to pursue an €80 million (£72m/$90m) addition to the transfer which has taken Antoine Griezmann to Camp Nou. A World Cup-winning forward has completed a move from the Spanish capital to Catalunya. Barca have paid out the €120m (£108m/$135m) required to trigger the release clause that existed in his Atletico contract. They believe they have done nothing wrong , but domestic rivals are arguing that an agreement was reached with Griezmann when his exit fee stood at €200m (£179m/$224m). Atletico vowed when a move was announced that they would be opening legal proceedings . That fight has now been taken to La Liga officials and those in power at the Spanish FA (RFEF). Atletico had been planning to take their case to FIFA, in the hope that world football’s governing body could rule in their favour.

Atletico Madrid closed back to within seven points of Barcelona thanks to Alvaro Morata's quickfire brace in a 2-0 win at Real Socieded on Sunday. Spain striker Morata opened his Atletico account in last weekend's victory over Villarreal and boosted his tally to three goals in two games with a pair of headers in the space of three first-half minutes. Diego Simeone's side needed three points to stay in touch with LaLiga leaders Barca, who edged Real Madrid 1-0 in El Clasico on Saturday, and had to complete the job with 10 men after Koke received a second yellow in the 62nd minute. But the home side, unbeaten in their 10 previous outings across all competitions, failed to make the advantage count and could not keep the Rojiblancos from moving five points clear of their city rivals.

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has been handed an extra one-match Champions League ban by UEFA for deliberately picking up a booking against Ajax earlier this month. Ramos was shown a yellow card in the closing stages of Real's 2-1 victory in Amsterdam, which means he is suspended for the last-16 second leg at Santiago Bernabeu on March 5. The Spain international then suggested in an interview after the match that he had been booked intentionally so as to avoid the risk of a suspension in the quarter-finals, although he later backtracked on those comments. However, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) have now adjudged that Ramos had deliberately got himself booked and have issued an additional ban, meaning he will miss the first leg of the quarter-final should Real progress. “The CEDB has decided to suspend the Real Madrid CF player Sergio Ramos for two UEFA competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible for clearly receiving a yellow car...

Gareth Bale will not receive any sort of ban for his celebration in Real Madrid's recent victory over Atletico Madrid. Bale was introduced in the second half of the match and scored quickly upon entering the fray. He scored Real's third and final goal in the 3-1 win over the club's crosstown rivals, and the finish was his 100th for the club. However, it was a finish that ended in controversy as Bale was reported to authorities for “a gesture of possible obscene and derogatory meaning” as a result of the ensuing celebration. However, the incident was not reported by the referee in his match report and the Spanish federation have opted to not punish the Welsh winger for the celebration at all. It's not the only celebration row Bale has found himself in recent weeks, having also earned criticism for pushing away Lucas Vazquez after scoring from the spot in this past weekend's win over Levante.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has been charged with improper conduct by UEFA following an incident during the 2-0 Champions League win over Juventus. UEFA did not confirm what action Simeone is being charged in connection with, reports suggest that it is related to him celebrating Atleti's opener by clutching his crotch while gesticulating to the crowd. Simeone attracted criticism from some for the gesture but he apologised after the match, explaining it was directed at Atletico fans, showing them "that we have cojones". "To start [Diego] Costa and Koke after they hadn't played for a month takes balls," he added. The Argentine admitted that it is not the first time he has performed such a celebration. "I did it as a player in Lazio vs Bologna and I did it again to show our fans that we have cojones. It wasn't aimed at the other team, I was turning towards our own supporters, " said Simeone.                      ...

Alvaro Morata scored his first Atletico Madrid goal as they beat Villarreal. The striker, on loan from Chelsea, met Filipe Luis' left-wing cross with a low volley from near the penalty spot. He celebrated by pretending he was speaking to a video official, having been denied goals by VAR against two former sides - Juventus on Wednesday and Real Madrid on 9 February. Saul scored a late second as he ran on to Diego Costa's long ball to lob Sergio Asenjo from eight yards out. Atleti are seven points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, who beat Sevilla 4-2 on Saturday. They could have won by more, with substitute Costa missing a one on one and Jose Maria Gimenez having a header saved.