Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 10y

Sergio Ramos quiet on Cristiano Ronaldo comments on Madrid business

Sergio Ramos said he would keep his thoughts to himself on Real Madrid's transfer business after Cristiano Ronaldo publicly questioned the sales of Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso.

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Blancos president Florentino Perez invested heavily with the signings of World Cup stars James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos this summer and had to balance the books by offloading Di Maria and Alonso to Manchester United and Bayern Munich respectively.

Lacking the two players who brought balance to their midfield last season as Madrid won the Champions League, the team were embarrassed 4-2 in La Liga by Real Sociedad last weekend, having already begun the new season by losing the Spanish Supercopa to neighbours Atletico Madrid.

This led Ronaldo to say on Monday that were he in charge he would have done things differently this summer, but Ramos said in AS that he preferred to keep his personal thoughts to himself and not comment publicly on the club's decisions.

"Everyone will have their own opinion and that should be respected," the Spain international defender said. "I am not going to get into any assessments of Cristiano or any individual player. We all belong to Madrid and we all must follow the club's laws, its decisions, and not do anything else. I am not getting into it. I have my opinion but it stays inside because this is not the moment to come to any conclusions about this issue."

Madrid brought in another attacker late in the window, signing Mexico international Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez on loan from Manchester United, and Ramos added: "Anything that brings quality and new players to the club is positive.

"In this sense, Chicharito is a player recognised at international level, and I believe he will play an important role in the team."

Perez had also been widely reported to be considering making another big-money move for Radamel Falcao, but the Colombia striker ended up joining United on loan late in the window.

Falcao's father, who is thought not to be in particularly close contact with his son, claimed on LA FM that Madrid had been the first option but the move had broken down over unspecified terms and conditions.

Radamel Garcia said things did not work out with Real Madrid because "if you have money and you go to the market to buy a shirt or trousers, you must decide if you will buy them or not."

He added: "Those at Real Madrid decided not to do it and there was nothing else to do. I do not know -- it gives me the feeling that they wanted the player to give himself away with a set of conditions and things. Things did not happen because, as I said, they decided to buy the trousers and shirt they wanted, thinking them the best. That must be accepted, as they are the ones with the money."

Garcia said he was still happy that his son had ended up at the "economically powerful" Old Trafford club.

"Thanks be to God everything came through with Manchester United," he said. "Radamel is a person who has given a lot in Europe, and has always deserved the best of everything for his effort, his sacrifice he has put in during his career. Manchester United is the most important team in England, and one of the most powerful economically."

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