Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa says the media should not take Cristiano Ronaldo’s comments he is unhappy ‘that seriously’.
In an effort to move on from the media storm surrounding Ronaldo’s claim he is unhappy in Madrid, Arbeloa argued the Portuguese forward is ‘smiling’ at training and that Real’s squad have moved on.
Arbeloa claimed the reigning La Liga champions are fully focused on their next match, after a slow start to the new season.
“Too much has been made of what Cristiano said,” Arbeloa said.
“I think that we shouldn’t take it that seriously.
“We saw him yesterday and he was smiling as always.
“It’s water under the bridge and as Xabi (Alonso) said, we are only focused on Sevilla right now.”
In a press conference on Thursday, Arbeloa’s team-mate Xabi Alonso maintained Real Madrid cannot afford to take Sevilla lightly.
Sevilla sit four spots above Madrid on the La Liga table after three rounds and have yet to lose this season.
Alonso expects a tough match and claimed the game would provide an opportunity for Ronaldo to get back to what he does best.
“For us, Sevilla is always a difficult place to play,” Alonso said.
“In recent years we’ve won there more than we expected to but they are always a tough team that has a good squad so this year we don’t expect it to be any different.
“Last year Cristiano scored a few goals there and that’s what he likes to do.
“He does his talking on the pitch by scoring goals.”
While Madrid trail La Liga leaders Barcelona by five points already, Arbeloa argued it is better to be behind their rivals now rather than later in the season.
“The league is more difficult to win now that we are five points behind but there are a lot of matches and points left,” the 29-year-old full-back said.
“Last year we were also in a similar position at this stage and I think that it’s better this happens now rather than later.
“We are confident that we will be able to reduce the gap and to do that we have to work hard.”
