Benitez ‘fought to keep Ramos’

Rafa Benitez says he ‘fought more than anyone’ to keep Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid and insists he gets along with every one of his squad.

Benitez appeared on Onda Cero’s Al Primer Toque programme and discussed at length the state of Los Blancos, beginning with the squad’s injury situation.

“There aren’t as many injuries as people say. Today I counted nine,” he noted, Marca reports.

“Injuries aren’t the same as fatigue. The fans can be calm, we’re working hard to prevent this, but we play twice a week with intensity. And we have a lot of internationals…”

Benitez then moved to talk about individual players, starting with Ramos, who was close to Manchester United over the summer, while there was a series of barbed comments back and forth between the captain and the Coach earlier in the season.

“I fought more than anyone for Ramos to stay. There’ve been zero problems between us. He’s the captain and a phenomenon and he has to prove himself constantly. He’s trained today,” Benitez said of the defender.

“I’m amazed at how many stories are invented. We have a very good locker room. There’s a great atmosphere among the players. It’s healthier than you think.

“I’ve had locker rooms that are more complicated. They all have some players who are more happy or less happy and some can be worse than another teammate, but there’s been nothing exceptional.”

“I have no problems with any player in the squad. Yesterday I spent a good, long time talking to Cristiano.”

Tags Rafa Benitez Sergio Ramos
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