Alvaro Arbeloa has pledged support for Cristiano Ronaldo from his teammates at Real Madrid.
Ronaldo declared he was unhappy at the club following the 3-0 victory over Granada at the weekend, but defender Arbeloa claims it is a matter he and the rest of the players know nothing about.
“I don’t know what is happening with Cristiano. It was as much a surprise to us as it was to you when we found out after the game,” Arbeloa told assembled media on meeting up with the Spanish national team at Las Rozas in the Spanish capital.
“At Madrid we are a family and we will support him in anything he needs, the same as we would with [Mesut] Ozil, [Michael] Essien or whoever. I’ve not heard anything about money, an improved contract or if he wants to leave.
“Cristiano knows he is at the best club in the world, which is where a player like him should be, and he is a phenomenon. I think he will be at Madrid for many more years.
“If he needs our love he knows he will get it. My relationship with him is very good and, from what I’ve seen of it, it is the same with the rest of the team.”
Arbeloa said he understood Ronaldo may have problems but insisted that it could be the same for anybody, despite complaints that he has it easy compared to a lot of other people in a country going through an economic crisis.
“It’s true he doesn’t have the problems a lot of Spanish people have, yet there may be other reasons why he is not at his best and that’s understandable.
“Cristian is a person like everyone else, someone who can have good and bad moments, and we all have the right to be sad on any given day – you cannot be happy 365 days a year.
“Money cannot buy happiness, that’s true, so he has all our support and love and we will all be behind him. I think the fans have taken it badly, I hope not.
“Their words have had a lot of impact and he needs the love of us all. If so we will give it,” concluded Arbeloa.
