The €100 million man Gareth Bale joined fellow galacticos David Beckham, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo in scoring on his La Liga debut for Real Madrid on Saturday night, but was still upstaged by teammates Diego Lopez and Ronaldo — who looks keen to show he remains Madrid’s top dog.

JANUARY

One of America’s leading sports business experts believes David Beckham’s mega-money deal to join Major League Soccer should be viewed more as a marketing tool than a player contract.

Real Madrid have dismissed reports linking them with a move for Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.