Sergio Ramos' future is not a cause for concern for Real Madrid assistant David Bettoni despite rumours the defender has decided to leave.
Media reports in Spain have claimed Ramos will exit Madrid at the end of the season when his contract expires after failing to respond to the club's latest contract offer, which is said to be worth 10 per cent less than his existing agreement.
The experienced centre-back has been linked with Paris Saint-Germain, though they are rumoured to have distanced themselves from such stories given it was claimed Ramos was asking for a wage greater than that of Kylian Mbappe.
Either way, Ramos' future remains uncertain and there appears to be a significant chance of him opting to move elsewhere.
But Bettoni – still standing in for head coach Zinedine Zidane as he isolates with coronavirus – insists it is not a situation that is worrying right now, as they are focusing on Ramos' recovery from the various ailments that have kept him out of LaLiga action since mid-December.
"I'm not worried [about the renewal]," Bettoni told reporters. "I see him every day and he's recovering. He is our captain, a great professional. We are not going to risk with him, but I cannot say anything else."
The 34-year-old is currently out with a knee injury, but he has also recently suffered with a hamstring issue and illness.
Regarding Ramos' fitness, Bettoni added: "Every week he feels better, but we don't want to risk it – luckily now we are only playing once a week.
"We are evaluating him week by week, we will see how his knee is next week.
"The Sergio I know has a great heart, he's the captain, he's always there, he's a great professional. He is somewhat annoyed because he cannot play, he always wants to compete. But I don't see him differently, I see him normal."
Zidane has been away from the Madrid squad for a week following his positive test for coronavirus, though Los Blancos cruised to a 4-1 win in the only match he has been forced to miss.
He will be absent again on Saturday when Levante visit Estadio Alfredo di Stefano, though Bettoni says Zidane's condition is improving and he has still been able to talk with his staff every day.
"Zidane is much better," he said. "And every day he gets better. We talk every day, we watch the training sessions, we discuss the contents.
"He is not physically there, but he is with us. The week was very good. It's true that his presence is missed - it is a pity because of his personality and charisma."
The pressure is on Madrid in LaLiga – they host Levante on Saturday already trailing leaders Atletico Madrid by seven points, and Diego Simeone's men also have a game in hand.
I saw only one team – Rodri bemoans Real Madrid’s tactics after City’s Euro exit
Rodri claims he “saw only one team” trying to win as he bemoaned Real Madrid’s tactics following Manchester City’s heartbreaking Champions League quarter-final loss.
City’s European title defence ended in agonising fashion at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday as the Spanish giants prevailed 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on the night meant the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate.
It was a clash the holders completely dominated, racking up 33 attempts on goal to the visitors’ eight, but Real defended deep to frustrate them and ultimately ended their hopes of a second successive treble.
City midfielder Rodri said: “To be honest, I saw only one team. In terms of defending, they defended (well). They knew how to suffer and we know how tough Real Madrid are.
“But in my opinion we should go through with that amount of chances but this is the trick of this competition. They know how to play it. We congratulate them.
“We gave everything, there is nothing to regret. This is football sometimes. This shows how difficult it is to win it, as we did last season. It was very frustrating and sometimes it is difficult to explain.”
City’s exit from the competition they won with a Rodri goal in Istanbul last year, coupled with Arsenal’s loss to Bayern Munich, means there are no English semi-finalists for the first time since 2020.
City had to chase the tie after Rodrgyo pounced to put Real ahead after 12 minutes.
They created a plethora of chances in a storming response, with Erling Haaland going the closest in the first half when he headed against the bar.
Further opportunities came and went after the break and it was not until the 76th minute that Kevin De Bruyne finally broke through to net a deserved equaliser.
But De Bruyne spurned a good chance to win it when he fired over soon after and, with extra-time failing to separate the sides, it came down to spot-kicks.
Ederson saved from Luka Modric but Bernardo Silva’s attempted Panenka was too easy for Andriy Lunin, who also denied Mateo Kovavic as Real went through.
The Premier League leaders now have little time to pick themselves up before heading to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea on Saturday.
Rodri said: “We will have to digest the loss but we will have to wake up, stand up. We still have two more competitions to play for.
“We need the mentality (to be) positive, to find any ambition that right now is difficult to find. Tomorrow we will find it and go against Chelsea, try to be in another final and fight for the Premier League.”
City will need to assess key pair Haaland and De Bruyne who, along with Manuel Akanji, were substituted before the penalty shoot-out.
Haaland was removed at the end of the regulation 90 minutes with the influential De Bruyne leaving the action in the second period of extra-time.
Manager Pep Guardiola said: “Erling and Kevin asked me to go out – they could not continue, like Manu. The game we were playing, they were amazing, but they could not continue.”
‘No regrets’ says Pep Guardiola after Manchester City loss in Champions League
Pep Guardiola insisted there were no regrets after Manchester City’s bid to retain their Champions League crown ended in a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out loss to Real Madrid.
The holders were beaten 4-3 on spot-kicks by the Spanish giants after their quarter-final tie ended 4-4 on aggregate – 1-1 on the night – despite a dominant display from Guardiola’s side in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
City fell behind early to a Rodrygo goal but created a host of chances as they sought to regain control of the tie but Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute equaliser was their only reward.
City manager Guardiola said: “I would have preferred to win but congratulations to Real Madrid, they defended so deep with incredible solidarity and we did everything.
“I don’t have any regrets about what we have done. Always we try to create more chances and concede less, because we believe that helps you to win and we did everything.
“We played exceptionally in all departments and unfortunately we could not win.”
Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both missed in the shoot-out, with the former’s effort proving a particularly comfortable save for Andriy Lunin.
Guardiola refused to blame the Portuguese for his failure to register.
He said: “Bernardo asked to take it, he’s a reliable player and decided to shoot in that way. What a game he had played. It happens.”
Guardiola also had no complaints about Real’s tactics, with the Spanish side forced to sit back and defend deep for much of the game.
“I don’t judge,” he said. “I’m not here to do this. It’s football. In this competition, that’s the way football happens.”
City’s loss also ended their hopes of winning a second successive treble and they must now pick themselves up for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley.
Guardiola said: “Now we will rest and on Friday we travel to London to play the game.
“We will see how people will react. Of course the recovery is easier when winning, rather than losing, but it is the semi-final of the FA Cup and we will try to compete as much as possible.”
Real manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted the strength of City had forced them to soak up pressure and look to take the tie on penalties.
The veteran Italian said: “We defended really, really well. This was about survival. Madrid is a club based on always fighting to stay in situations where there seems to be no way out – but we always find a way.
“By the time the penalty shoot-out came, we were totally convinced we’d go through.
“This is about the only way you can come to City and win. You work, sacrifice and win however you can.”
Mikel Arteta: What Arsenal still have to play for is beautiful
Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to end their season in “beautiful” fashion after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich.
The Gunners lost 1-0 at the Allianz Arena as Joshua Kimmich’s second-half header was enough to seal a semi-final against Real Madrid with a 3-2 aggregate victory.
It followed on from a 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa on Sunday that has dented Arsenal’s Premier League title chances.
They travel to Wolves on Saturday evening needing a reaction to a poor week and Arteta feels his side will approach the game in the correct manner.
Asked how painful the Champions League exit was, the Spaniard said: “It’s there.
“It’s not going to go away, certainly tonight, but I can guarantee you by tomorrow we’re fully focused on Wolves and everybody is lifted.
“What we still have to play for is beautiful. I said before it’s time to be next to these players.
“It’s easy to be behind them and praise the players and talk nice things when we win 10 in a row and one draw.
“The moment is now to be behind them and be next to them.”
After a tight game in which Bayern also hit the woodwork twice and Gabriel Martinelli missed a glorious chance to put the away side ahead, Arteta said his side are continuing to learn after returning to the Champions League for the first time in seven years.
“We haven’t played this competition for seven years and we haven’t been in this stage for 14 years,” he added.
“There’s a reason for it. We want to do everything fast forward, super quick in one season. I think we have the capacity and the quality to be in the semi-final because the margins are very small.
“Those margins are coming from something else that maybe we don’t have yet. We have to learn it. When you look historically it took other clubs seven, eight or 10 years to do it. Today that’s not going to make us feel better that’s for sure.”
While Arsenal are still relatively inexperienced at this level, Bayern are now preparing for a ninth semi-final in the competition since the Gunners last made it that far.
Manager Thomas Tuchel also becomes just the second man, after Jose Mourinho, to guide three different clubs to the final four and was pleased with the performance of the hosts.
“It’s always better to play in front of your own fans,” he said.
“With every tackle and every good action you get the support and it lifts you and gives you a second wind.
“Now it’s the semi-finals and everyone needs to step up – we need to step up and the supporters need to step up again.
“It was a chess game in the first half. Nobody wanted to make the first mistake. Everyone played a bit safe – there were moments for us, there were moments for Arsenal.
“We encouraged the team at half-time to show a bit more personality, a bit more courage. We were more fluid and played a fantastic second half. We deserved to win.”
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