'They are more of a team without Cristiano'

Paris Saint-Germain right back Dani Alves has insisted that Real Madrid are a much stronger unit since Cristiano Ronaldo's £100million departure to Juventus.

Julen Lopetegui's side have been gearing up for their Champions League tie with Roma on Wednesday night, the first game of their European title defence.

With Ronaldo, Real managed to win three successive Champions League titles cementing the side as one of the greatest of all time but Alves believes that it will be more difficult to play them without Ronaldo as their main focal point.

When asked if losing Ronaldo would hurt Los Blancos, Alves told Marca: 'I think that, contrary to what everybody else says, Madrid are more of a team without Cristiano, and now it's a little more difficult than it was before - at least because of how I see football and my concept of this game.'

'Though it's obvious that him leaving is a brutal loss, Madrid are Madrid.'

And it's not just the Brazilian who feels this way.

Gareth Bale told Sportsmail's Ian Herbert that Real have been working more as a team following Ronaldo's big-money move.

'Obviously it's going to be a little different from having such a big player there,' Bale said. 'It's maybe a bit more relaxed, yes. I suppose there is more of a team, more working as one unit rather than one player.'





MailOnline