Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that the sale of three stars in the summer makes them weaker with the likes of Alvaro Morata, James Rodriguez, and Pepe.
Los Blancos have made a poor start to their defense of both La Liga and the Champions League, suffering a 3-1 defeat to Tottenham just days after Girona shocked them.
Real Madrid are eight points behind
arc rival Barcelona in the league, while Spurs are now favourites
to finish on top Group H with two matches to go
World best player of year Ronaldo believes the poor start of the campaign is due to their transfer business over the summer when he seems surprised when they allowed the likes of Morata, James, and Pepe leave Santiago Bernabeu.
'‘The players who have come in have great potential,’ the Portuguese superstar told reporters after netting the consolation goal at Wembley on Wednesday night.
"‘But Pepe, Morata and James Rodriguez made us stronger – now the team is younger. ‘We are also without [Dani] Carvajal and [Gareth] Bale.
"‘It’s not a worse squad, but it has less experience and that is very important – though it is not an excuse. I’m happy and don’t want to set off alarms.’
Morata who joined Chelsea in the summer has scored seven goals all competitions while James and Pepe both playing regularly for Bayern Munich and Besiktas.
