Rafael Benitez: No problem with me and Ronaldo

Speaking ahead of his side's trip to face Shakhtar Donetsk i the Champions League on Wednesday, Benitez also said he was still hurting from Saturday's 4-0 beating by Barcelona at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

It has been suggested that Ronaldo wants Benitez out of a job with media reports claiming he told president Florentino Perez Los Blancos could not win a trophy under the Spanish coach.

Despite those claims, Ronaldo has scored 13 goals in 18 matches so far this season.

"Conflict with Cristiano?," said Benitez.

"No, absolutely. He's a great player & totally essential.

“I don't think we are in crisis. We have a great team and wonderful players. We are all united. I have heard the support from the board of directors and from the president.

“We’ve spoken between the players and myself. It is the players and myself that have to sort things out on the football pitch.”

Benitez said Los Blancos would be giving maximum effort to recover their gait having gone 14 matches unbeaten before the defeats to Sevilla and Barcelona in La Liga.

Madrid have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, but will win Group A if they can depart Lviv with three points.

“I think we have a great team, great players and because of this we went 14 games unbeaten,” he said.

"It is clear that we’ve lost a couple of games and the last game against Barcelona, which was a very important game, didn’t go well.

“We’ve got great desire to put it right and we want to get out and work as hard as we possibly can to win as many games a possible going into the future. “These two defeats don’t change the sensation that we have in the team – that we are learning and growing.

“We want to try and recover the good sensations that we have as a team but the work and the commitment and the effort that we put in won’t change

“We want to work hard until the end of the season to give the fans as much happiness as we can.”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s representative Jorge Mendes is quoted as saying the Portugal forward will stay at Real Madrid until he retires.

There have been more reports linking Ronaldo with a move away from Santiago Bernabeu, including comments from Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal mentioning Ronaldo by name.

“Cristiano will end his career at Real Madrid,” Mendes told Canal+, AS reports, according to stories from England.

It’s suggested that Ronaldo’s rumoured falling out with Madrid Coach Rafa Benitez - denied by President Florentino Perez - could be a factor if he does quit his current club.