Real Madrid are “treated differently” to every club in the world, according to head coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
Madrid are currently dealing with a barrage of criticism for a miserable season that will end without silverware amid reports of numerous dressing room disagreements, the most serious of which saw Federico Valverde hospitalised last week after a fall-out with fellow midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.
President Florentino Perez arranged a press conference last night at which he launched a bizarre tirade against the media and loosely called for an election for the top job at the Santiago Bernabeu.
If his intention was to reassure the club’s fans that all was well behind the scenes, it had the opposite effect.
Asked about Perez today, ahead of tomorrow night’s game with Oviedo, Arbeloa said: “I’m not here to comment on the president’s press conference. Any Madridista agrees to defend the interests of Madrid. We are treated differently from the rest of the clubs in the world. We are aware of the demands, if this club has something that is strong, it’s the members. No-one is going to tell us how to think, how we should be or how to act.”
Perez was quick to highlight his achievements during his tenure – claiming he was Madrid’s “most valued president in history” – and Arbeloa also pointed out the club’s success under the 79-year-old businessman.
He added: “I have known Madrid without Florentino. I know how it was before his arrival and I know how these 26 years have been. The Madrid fans realise what Florentino has done, beyond the titles. If there is someone capable of turning this situation around, it is Florentino Pérez.”
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Arbeloa confident Real Madrid will be better next season
Arbeloa is confident Madrid will bounce back next season, although it is highly unlikely he will be around to play a part with Jose Mourinho lined up to return to the Spanish capital.
Asked if the 15-time European champions had hit rock bottom, Arbeloa said: “I find that surprising. What do the other clubs do then? It’s not like we haven’t won anything in 50 years.
“It is clear that if Madrid is where it is, it is because of demand and non-conformism. I don’t know if anyone here dares to say that Madrid won’t win anything next year. I don’t. I don’t understand that feeling of institutional instability, of a disunited dressing room…
“Madrid has been doing many things well for some time. It is healthy, well managed, with great players, and surely over the summer the club will do the necessary analysis to strengthen the team and make it a stronger Madrid.
“But this is sport, you don’t win the Champions League every year, nor the league. Using our heads and our hearts, Madrid will win again, for sure.”
Arbeloa asks for support from angry Real Madrid fans
There is likely to be a hostile atmosphere inside the Bernabeu tomorrow night but Arbeloa called on the fans to get behind the team against an Oviedo side that have already been relegated.
“I have always said that Madrid is stronger when its fans and the team are together,” he said. “That’s how it’s been throughout history, we’re a family. We always come back, Madrid always comes back.
“The demand is very high, we never settle [for anything less]. Losing hurts, more than at other clubs. We will win again with the support of our fans. There is a double measuring stick, it has always been there. We have been without major trophies for two years, others have many more. How many have won the Champions Leagues that we have? And the stability of the club is called into question. But the fans are not stupid, they understand and this mistreatment hurts them.”
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