On the eve of Saturday’s clásico Rafael Benítez, the Real Madrid manager, has described Cristiano Ronaldo as a “fundamental player” and backed the Portuguese to return to form.
The ex-Manchester United forward, the current holder of the Ballon d’Or, has been somewhat off colour of late. He scored against lowly Las Palmas and Celta Vigo but failed to find the back of the net against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League or the defeat to Sevilla in their last outing. That loss meant Madrid surrendered top spot to their arch rivals Barcelona and defeat to the current La Liga champions would leave them six points adrift after 12 matches.
“Cristiano is a fundamental player,” Benítez, who will take charge of his first clásico at the Bernabéu, said. “He has the capacity to score a lot of goals, he has my absolute confidence that he will score a lot of goals and he is a guarantee and he will do that. However he does it I don’t care. The important thing is that he feels comfortable, that he gets forward and scores.”
The good news for the under-pressure Benítez is that he has a full squad available for of el clásico, including Karim Benzema. Benzema, one of several key players to have been sidelined in recent months, picked up a hamstring strain playing for France in October and has missed four domestic league games and two Champions League matches.
Benítez told a news conference on Friday that Benzema was in the squad and a decision on his participation would be taken on Saturday. The centre-back and captain Sergio Ramos, who has been struggling with a shoulder injury that kept him out of the most recent Spain squad, would definitely play, Benítez added.
The former Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea, Internazionale and Napoli manager was also asked about Benzema’s mental state following last week’s attacks in Paris and his implication in a blackmail investigation.
The 27-year-old was put under formal judicial investigation this month in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail the Lyon forward Mathieu Valbuena with the use of a sex video. “We’ll talk to him and assess how he is in every sense and decide what is best for us and him,” Benítez said.
