Rafael Benitez Denies Fallout With Ronaldo

Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez has said the absence of Ronaldo from the Audi Cup is due to injury rather than a fallout between the pair.

Ronaldo and Benzema will miss the pre-season competition in Munich after picking up back and thigh injuries respectively.

The absence of the Portuguese follows reports of a dispute between coach and player, but Benitez has denied such claims.

“He’s a great professional and someone who is very competitive, he wants to win every single small game or situation,” Benitez said.

“I’m really pleased to work [with] him, [I’m] sorry because he’s not here, but [there’s] no problems between us. I said before, he’s a very competitive player so I am pleased with that.

“He had a lower back problem so we decided to leave him there.”