Benitez safe as Real Madrid manager: 'He has all our support and confidence'
Rafa Benitez's tenure at Real Madrid will, at least for now, continue.
Club president Florentino Perez, speaking at a press conference on Monday to address the future of the embattled bench boss, told reporters that Benitez "has all our support and confidence" in light of Saturday's crushing 4-0 defeat at the hands of Barcelona.
Perez also pleaded for fans to support the players and Benitez, who was signed to a three-year contract in June, and ruled out rehiring Carlo Ancelotti in the immediate future.
"We are convinced that we have a great squad that will give much happiness to a fan base that deserves everything," Perez said. "Benitez is the chosen one to bring success to this squad that since January has struggled."
The biggest sentiment to come out of the impromptu news conference, which Perez called earlier on Monday, was about stability. He pointed at the media and the ultras for attempting to damage Madrid's reputation, and was quick to rubbish claims that Cristiano Ronaldo had pushed for Benitez to be sacked.
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"No one has said anything against him. Ronaldo is a good guy; he’s never said anything. All this stuff people say is just to destabilise us," Perez said. "And it's every day. And there will be some naive people who believe that."
The 30-year-old Portuguese star himself has been the subject of rumours linking him to Paris Saint-Germain. Another load of nonsense, said Perez. No, he hadn't met with the president of PSG or agent Jorge Mendes over dinner in the week leading up to El Clasico. No, Ronaldo hadn't issued an ultimatum. Everyone stays.
There were, however, many inside the Santiago Bernabeu on the day of the embarrassing defeat to Barcelona who called for Perez to resign. He took the blame for some of what's happened - "A lot of what happens is my fault," he said - but pinned the ultras as the ones who launched the campaign against him.
"A year ago we said the violent Ultras Sur would not come into the ground. Since then they have tried everything to intimidate me."