Guangzhou: Real Madrid manager Rafael Benitez brushed off rumours of making a bid for David de Gea and said he was confident Sergio Ramos would stay at the club after watching his side beat Inter Milan 3-0 in Guangzhou on Monday.
Real’s Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo put on a scintillating first-half show, James Rodriguez capped a brief cameo with a stunning goal and Jese and Raphael Varane also scored either side of half-time.
But Benitez again had to field questions about the transfer rumour mill before he could praise his players after a thumping win in the International Champions Cup.
Manchester United earlier on Monday signed Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero, ramping up the speculation that Spaniard De Gea would head back to his home country, possibly in a deal involving Real captain Ramos going the other way.
“De Gea?” said Benitez when asked about the rumours by reporters. “All I know is we scored three goals and I’m very happy.”
Benitez added that Ramos had met club president Florentino Perez in Guangzhou on Monday and reiterated his belief that the defender was going nowhere and would sign a new contract soon.
“I asked Perez how the meeting with Ramos went on Sunday after dinner,” said Benitez. “He told me both parties were optimistic. I am optimistic.”
On the field it was the display of the modern-day Galacticos Ronaldo and Bale that will live long in the memory of the almost 40,000 fans who packed the Tianhe stadium and left Benitez purring.
“The players’ attitude has been very good pre-season,” said Benitez.
“To score three and not concede shows the hard work is paying off. It was a fantastic performance. Very good in front of goal.”
Real Madrid will travel on to Shanghai, where they face Inter’s city rivals AC Milan on Thursday.
But the blue and black half of Milan are left to reflect on a miserable China tour, where they failed to score a single goal in losing all three matches.
“Obviously the results haven’t been positive, but the main thing is to see a performance and we’ve got better as a team with every game,” Inter manager Roberto Mancini said.
Hotshot Mauro Icardi, Serie A’s joint top scorer last term, will soon be partnered up front by Stevan Jovetic, who arrived in Milan on Monday to complete the formalities of his move from Manchester City.
“I’m not worried that we haven’t scored,” added Mancini. “Because I’m sure that Inter will step up when it matters.
“Jovetic is a different forward to Icardi and [Rodrigo] Palacio and will be an important player for us.”
