There is nothing but pride to play for in the last two games in La Liga, but Mourinho will not be making an early exit, according to AS. We still do not know who is replacement will be, but it is looking increaingly likely that Carlo Ancelotti will be persuaded to leave the new French champions PSG.

Mourinho will, no doubt, be banned from the touchline for these next two games, so I am not sure what good he will do by hanging around the club. He may just be digging his heels in and being stubborn, as he still hopes to be released by Madrid rather than walking away.

His reported next club, Chelsea, head off to America next week for a couple of promotional games and I am sure that Mourinho would like to join up with them rather than sitting in the stands at Real Madrid. To be honest, all parties concerned probably just want it all over and done with so we can start looking forward again.

Ronaldo, who else, had given Real an early lead, but Atletico were tough and organised and it was their main star, Radamel Falcao that brought his team back into it. The Colombian used all his strength and guile to hold off two Real players and then produced a perfect pass to Diego Costa. Lopez got his hand to Costa’s shot but only tipped it onto the post and in.

In all honesty, Real should still have won it, but the woodwork denied Ozil, Benzema and Ronaldo, while Courtois was in inspired form in goal for Atletico. Mourinho’s temper boiled over and he was sent off for his protestations in the second half. Ronaldo was sent off for a lunge in the extra time period, but Real were already behind after Miranda headed in on 98 minutes.

Real Madrid fans just want to put this season behind them, get rid of Mourinho and hope for a much better season next time around.

Atletico have not lost many games this season, especially at home, but they have lost both La Liga games against Real. Despite this, and the fact that tonight’s final is at the Bernabeu, Simeone knows that anything can happen in a one-off match.

“Whoever links up better between midfield and attack will be closer to victory,” said Simeone. “That is the way the game will go.

“Real Madrid may be better, but in a game everything is possible.”

Both clubs have nothing left to play for in the league, so will be going all out to win this final. It should be a great game, which Atletico will try to keep as tight as possible. If Real get ahead, then the game will open up and the counter attacking ability of Real should then come into play.

It is the Real defence that is a concern, though, with Varane out and Ramos struggling. Also, the keeper Diego Lopez has a poor record against Atletico and they do have Falcao. If they get ahead, they will make it very difficult for Ronaldo and co to get any space to operate.

Their main transfer target this summer is the Real Madrid and Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo and they are ready to spend a staggering amount to get him. Ronaldo became the most expensive transfer if football history when he came to the Bernabeu from Manchester united for over €93 million in 2009. PSG are ready to beat that figure by paying a cool 100 million euros, according to L’Equipe. They are also ready to increase the player’s salary by around 50 percent and pay him 18 million euros a year.

Not only that, but they will allow the manager Carlo Ancelotti to leave Paris and join Real Madrid as the replacement for Jose Mourinho. Real have targeted Ancelotti as the man they want to manage the team back to glory next season, but PSG are digging their heels in.

You would never think that Madrid would sell their best player, but the terms on offer, if they are true, are enough to tempt anybody, especially as the 28-year old has stalled on extending his contract which has just two years left to run.

Their opponents and city rivals Atletico Madrid have sealed third place in La Liga, which means they will be in the group stages of the Champions League next season. Despite their excellent form this season, they are around 5/1 to win the Spanish cup, while Real are at around 1/2 on in the betting at Unibet.

With the attacking talent on offer in both sides, the bookies expect goals, as the odds of three or more goals in the game is 1/2, while under three is at 6/4. Not surprisingly, as he has scored 54 goals in 54 games this season, Cristiano Ronaldo is favourite to score, at 9/4 to score first and 4/9 to score at anytime. He has, incidentally, got a very uniform scoring rate this season, with six goals from six games in this competition so far, 34 from 34 in La Liga, 12 from 12 in the Champions League and two from two in the Spanish supercup. That must be the unique and if he finishes the season that way it will be bizarre. I wonder what the odds are against that?

Radamel Falcao is no slouch either. His figures of 33 goals from 38 games this season would look fantastic next to almost any other player and so his odds of 11/2 to score first and 5/4 to score at anytime represent decent value. As we do not know whether Mourinho will pick Higuain or Benzema to play up front, their odds of 4/1 each to score first are not so good. With Varane injured and Pepe and Casillas seemingly having irreconcilable differences with the coach, the chances of Atletico scoring are good and it is usually Falcao that does the business.

Away from the final, most of the speculation surrounds Jose Mourinho. The bookies seem almost certain that he will leave Madrid this summer and join Chelsea, as he is 1/12 ON to be in charge at Stamford Bridge at the start of the season. They also have Carlo Ancelotti as the clear favourite to take over, with odds of 2/5 on that he will be the next man in charge at the Bernabeu. PSG are trying to resist and have apparently said they will let him go if Madrid agree to sell Ronaldo. You don’t need me to tell you how unlikely that is.

Mourinho publicly slammed his Portuguese central defender Pepe after Pepe said that Iker Casillas deserved more respect than he was getting. Mourinho replied by saying that Pepe was only upset because he had lost his place to the 20-year old French defender Rafael Varane.

There may have been some truth in that, but Varane is going to miss the final after he had surgery on his injured right knee yesterday. Mourinho has also claimed that he has not dropped certain players because of disagreements but because of football and form reasons.

We will see, because Pepe is one of the best defenders he has left and a massive percentage of the fans want him to play. His experience and strength could be crucial in dealing with the threat of Falcao.

It should not matter about relationships and showing who is the boss to the players now, because Mourinho is leaving. Hopefully he will want another trophy to add to his cv.

It seems as if Florentino Perez and officials at Madrid have decided that the 53-year old Italian, Carlo Ancelotti, is the man to succeed Mourinho, but his current club have rejected the approach by Real, according to the PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi.

“They came and I discussed it with them,” he said. “Carlo has got a contract with us for one more year. For me, he’s here next year.

“He’s a fantastic guy and I’m sure he’ll respect his contract.”

Ancelotti has a great record in management, with a long list of trophies from his time with Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea and now PSG. He has won the league in three different countries and won the Champions League twice, so it is not surprising that he is high on the list of candidates for the Real Madrid job.

Also, he does not have the knack of falling out with his players, colleagues and the media that Mourinho has proved so good at recently. I doubt whether Madrid will stop at that single approach, but if PSG and Ancelotti stand firm, Madrid need to start looking elsewhere and quickly, because we cannot afford to start slowly again next season.

After his goal on Wednesday, Ronaldo pointed to the Bernabeu turf and shouted, “Yo aqui, Yo aqui,” This means I am here in Spanish and seems ti indicate his intention to stay in Madrid, rather than move as the media has been suggesting.

The most likely destination for the striker, if he did leave, was his former club Manchester United, because of his close relationship with Alex Ferguson and the fans. The manager has now announced his retirement, making Ronaldo’s return a lot less likely.

The third factor, and one which threatens to overshadow everything at the club at the moment, is Jose Mourinho. A Portuguese TV station has analysed footage of Ronaldo after his goal and they seem to have picked up the player directing an insult in Portuguese towards the bench.

Ronaldo had famously said that he was sad earlier in the season and Mourinho suggested earlier this week that it was the team’s sadness that had cost them another La Liga title. Ronaldo is clearly angered by Mourinho trying to shift the blame onto him, when most of the players blamed the pre-season preparations.

So it seems as if Ronaldo is another Real Madrid player who has fallen out with the coach, which makes Mourinho’s summer departure another reason for Ronaldo to stay. There is still no further news, however, on whether Ronaldo will agree to extend his current contract, which is due to expire in 2015. It will probably depend on who is in charge next season and how they get along.

It could have been a difficult night for Madrid, with feeling running high, especially against Jose Mourinho. The rumours of discordance in the dressing room and the fact that Malaga were desperate for points in their bid for Champions League football next season made it a potentially awkward encounter, but everything turned out great. (see highlights below)

Albiol gave Madrid the lead in the third minute and Santa Cruz levelled after 15. Then Sanchez saw red and Madrid took control. Ronaldo and Ozil scored before Antunes gave the visitors a lifeline in the 36th minute. They were fighting against the tide, though, and Benzema retored the two goal cushion on the stroke of halftime.

Modric had another superb game and capped with a great strike in the second half. Malaga’s misery was completed with another red card for Demichelis and a late goal by Di Maria. .Barcelona now need to win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday to seal the title, while Real can focus on the Copa Del Reyes final in two weeks.