Lucas at centre of Real Madrid crisis

SAO PAULO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Attacking midfielder Lucas Moura, who next month will move from Sao Paulo to French outfit¹ Paris Saint-Germain in a multi-million dollar deal, is the reason behind a major rift² at Real Madrid, according to the Spanish media.
Sports daily Marca reported that Portuguese³ coach Jose Mourinho had identified the Brazilian international as his top transfer target last summer, only for the player to opt⁴ for France whilst Real signed Luka Modric instead.
Florentino Perez, president of the Spanish club, allegedly regarded Sao Paulo's asking price of 43 million euros too steep for an unproven talent and refused to grant Mourinho the cash to buy the Selecao star. Modric arrived for around 30 million euros from English club Tottenham Hotspur.
Perez's failure to back his coach in the transfer market has led to a rift between the two, which has since spread to members of the playing staff and subsequently results on the pitch.
With the Spanish championship now on its winter break, defending champions Real lie 16 points behind runaway⁵ leaders Barcelona.
Having missed out on Lucas, one name currently being linked with the Spanish giants is Atletico-MG playmaker Bernard.
 

1 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

2 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

3 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

4 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

5 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。