Ancelotti: "We want to end a fantastic year well"

In the press conference prior to the Almería match, Carlo Ancelotti gave his take on the year soon to end: "a fantastic year for Real Madrid". "We want to end the year well, winning, but the mark that I give my team is already very high."

JAMES: "He has a slight knock and we hope that on Thursday he can be with the group again."

CLUB WORLD CUP: "We are evaluating our rivals in preparation".

MODRIC: "Tomorrow they will give him a CAT scan. The muscle has mended well. We hope that he will be back in training in the middle of January."

KHEDIRA: "He'll be ready for the final, but not the semi-final. On Monday he should be given the all-clear."

CHICHARITO: "I have never asked him to score, but rather to work and help out. He always trains extremely hard. I would love to give Chicharito more minutes, but he himself knows that there is a lot of competition."

WINTER SIGNING: "We are waiting to see what happens with James and Modric's injuries. Medrán also has a lot of quality."

THE RECORD: "The record is important because it means that we are doing things well. This record doesn't give you titles, but it does self-confidence."

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: "The second-placed teams this year are more competitive: Juve, City PSG... Last year, all the first-placed teams won - this year it won't be so easy..."

DUNGA and MARCELO: "I don't think that Brazil played a poor World Cup because of Marcelo. He is without doubt the best defender in the world. That doesn't necessarily mean that he has to play for Brazil; we are happy that he has stayed at home."

MIJATOVIC: "He came to pay a visit; he's a friend and this is his home."

CARVAJAL AND THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: "The fact that he hasn't played in the Champions League yet doesn't mean anything. Maybe he'll play in the next game."