 On 21 July, Madrid set off on their pre-season tour of the United States.Nineteen players were among the travelling party, with Ancelotti opting to take nine from Real Madrid Castilla to compensate for the absences of Madrid's World Cup players, who remained on holiday.However, Xabi Alonso, Pepe and Fábio Coentrão did fly to the U.S. and cut their summer breaks short and joined the rest of the team.