Former striker Julio Baptista says nobody has ever been irreplaceable at Real Madrid and believes Los Blancos will move on from the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo despite their struggles since the exit of the five-time world footballer of the year.
Ronaldo joined Juventus for €100 million in the summer after nine glittering seasons in the Spanish capital.
And the 13-time European champions have struggled since the Portugal powerhouse’s exit, losing five of their first 13 games this season to leave themselves off the pace in La Liga.
Their midweek 2-1 Champions League victory over Viktoria Plzen was their first triumph in six games and Real now face fierce rivals Barcelona in El Clasico at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
Manager Julen Lopetegui is already under severe pressure ahead of the iconic fixture – one that doesn’t feature Ronaldo or an injured Lionel Messi for the first time since 2007.
Julio Baptista scored the winner the last time an El Clasico match didn’t feature Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
Baptista was the matchwinner on that occasion in a 1-0 win at the Camp Nou and the Brazilian says there is life after Ronaldo for Real.
“Real Madrid miss Cristiano’s goals, logically, but nobody has ever been irreplaceable at Real Madrid, and no one will,” he told Goal ahead of El Clasico.
“Cristiano is the best, or one of the best players in history. But he left. And some others will come and then leave. That’s the story. After the Galacticos era, Real won four Champions titles.”