Instead, the next few matches will usher in a period of transition for one of Europe's top sides, one that will offer as much of an opportunity to predict Los Blancos' future as it will provide a cha...

Madrid chose to ignore the announcement by the Brazilian soccer federation and was still to publicly acknowledge it 24 hours later.

Brazil's footballing dominance has fallen away in the last two decades.

Alonso is expected to become the new manager at Real Madrid, having confirmed he will leave Bayer Leverkusen this summer.