No Ronaldo, no fans - Real Madrid have lowest La Liga attendance in 10 years Los Blancos had their worst home crowd since before the CR7 era, but got the result they wanted on the pitch with Gareth Bale finding the net The post-Cristiano Ronaldo era at Real Madrid began the way the pre-Cristiano Ronaldo era ended, with a half-full Santiago Bernabeu. Goals from Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale against Getafe got Julen Lopetegui's side off to the perfect start in the 2018-19 La Liga season, but the lack of home fans was as conspicious as the absence of their former talisman. Just 48,466 people came through the turnstiles for the first home game of the season, which should have attracted both hardcore fans and football tourists to see some of the biggest names in world football. The last time, Real played in front of such a paltry Santiago Bernabeu crowd was the final home game of the 2008-09 season, which came during a five-game losing streak that was started by the historic 6-2 Clasico defeat to Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, who had both Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi scoring braces. After that loss, Los Blancos slumped to second place in the table and decided to take the risk of breaking the world transfer record to sign a certain Portuguese attacker from Manchester United. Ronaldo moved to Madrid in June 2009, spending the next nine seasons at the club where he won four Champions League titles but just two Ligas. With Ronaldo now gone to Juventus, fans failed to turn up for Madrid's first game of the season, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's shadow cast large over the empty seats in the stadium. No replacement has been brought in to provide firepower in attack. Nobody can replace Ronaldo's record of 450 goals in 438 games for Real Madrid, but new head coach Lopetegui had to rely upon the familiar faces of Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema and Bale to lead the line up front. Bale started the season the way he started the last two campaigns - with a goal in the opening fixture - and will be expected to take on more of the burden in attack, having played just 26 Liga games last season and 19 in the previous campaign. Article continues below The empty seats at the Bernabeu were not just down to Ronaldo's summer switch, with the late kickoff time also hindering many younger fans from attending. Perhaps more importantly were the lack of new faces on show. Every single one of the starting XI was at the club last season, while the three substitutes brought on during the second half were also Zinedine Zidane regulars. Fans hoping for a glimpse of new goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in action will have to wait at least another week to see the World Cup Golden Glove winner, while €45 million (£40m/$51m) wonderkid Vinicius Junior was restricted to a role on the bench. Real Madrid may have not gotten the attendance they wanted for the opening game, but they got the three points needed to ensure they compete for the title again. The fans have not yet forgotten Ronaldo, but more victories can help the transition and get the crowds back to Santiago Bernabeu.<doc-sep>Modric encourages Real Madrid fans: It's time to lift ourselves LaLiga - Real Madrid The Croat looks ahead Luka Modric continues to be headline news after Real Madrid reported Inter for contacting the player behind their back, but he is only thinking about the Spanish capital. The defeat against Atletico Madrid was a damaging one, but, Real's number 10 is confident that the team will recover. Modric has sent a message to fans of Los Blancos, via his social media channels. "A tough defeat, but one defeat does not define this team! It's time to lift ourselves and keep working hard like we've always done." This Sunday, LaLiga starts and Real have their first chance to lift their heads against Getafe. With Modric on the pitch.<doc-sep>
Real Madrid fans have voted overwhelmingly for the club to splash the cash on a new striker to replace Cristiano Ronaldo before the transfer window closes. The Champions League holders are yet to sign a forward, despite losing record scorer Ronaldo to Juventus in a £100million deal earlier this summer. That has left Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio as Real's front three - but supporters want at least one new face added to the club's attack. Spanish newspaper AS revealed the results of their Real Madrid poll on Friday's front page Real have not replaced Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Juventus in a £100m deal this summer In a poll in Spanish newspaper AS, a whopping 88 per cent of fans have called on president Florentino Perez to strengthen before the deadline on August 31. The same publication suggests that there are three feasible options for manager Julen Lopetegui, who will not be able to move for top targets Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani. Inter Milan star Mauro Icardi, RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner and Valencia's Rodrigo have all attracted interest from Real as they plan for the future. Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi has attracted interest from Real Madrid in recent seasons Germany forward Timo Werner (left) and Valencia star Rodrigo are also on Real's list of targets A deal for Icardi appears unlikely with Serie A sides unable to buy players after their transfer window closes on Friday evening (August 17). However, the Spanish giants have been keeping tabs on Germany international Werner and Lopetegui is a known admirer of Rodrigo, who he included in Spain's World Cup squad earlier this summer. It is claimed that Valencia would demand around £72m for Rodrigo, while there are concerns about Werner's ability to perform at the highest level each week.