Rafa Benitez: "Only Cristiano Ronaldo's place is guaranteed"

Posted Wednesday, September 23, 2015 by Marca.com

Rafa Benitez:

Rafael Benitez admits it is going to be a tough trip to San Mames.

"We know that Athletic are tough opponents. Real Madrid lost there last year. We have to be more focused", he said.

On Jese: Only one player is guaranteed his place here and that's Cristiano Ronaldo. All the others are good. We have talented youngsters who still have to work on improving their game. Jese was outstanding in training this week so there is no dilemma".

On Bale: I communicate with him in English and he fully understands what he has to do to be competitive".

On rotating Ronaldo: "He was the fastest man out on the pitch against Espanyol. He's in good shape right now".

On whether his system favours Ronaldo or Bale: "It doesn't favour anyone. It's all about helping whoever scores 60 goals. Benzema is also finding the net. We need to remain balanced up front".

On Ronaldo and Navas's respective records: "I want to win. I'm not obsessed with not conceding goals. I'm happier if they don't score, but if they do and Cristiano scores five, I'm still happy".