Real Madrid news: 'Club does not miss Cristiano Ronaldo,' says Santiago Solari

What's the story?

Newly appointed Real Madrid boss Santiago Solari has stated that the Blancos do not miss their top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo despite the torrid time the club have had since his departure.

In case you didn't know...

Following the summer exit of Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo, Real Madrid have endured one of their worst starts to a season, including a humiliating 5-1 Clasico defeat that led to former boss Julen Lopetegui's eventual sacking.

The club's fortunes looked set to turn under Solari but a return from the international break saw Madrid, with seven Ballon d'Or candidates in the starting line-up, lose to Eibar in an apparent wake-up call.

The heart of the matter

Despite a visibly-different Real Madrid side, Solari insists that the Champions League-winning club is more than just Ronaldo.

According to a Calciomercato report, the Argentine manager said, "Cristiano is a champion, he's part of our history, he's ours, we do not miss him because he's a player of ours and will always be part of our history even if now it plays for Juventus."

"In football, the problems are never solved. The next game is another problem and so until the end of the season.

"Our name is Real Madrid and we must always win every match, every year, all the championships. We must live up to our history and our name. This is the main challenge."

To put things into perspective, since the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's departure, Gareth Bale has netted three goals in 12 matches while Marco Asensio has scored only one goal in 13 appearances so far this season.

What's next?

Real Madrid are set to face Roma in a Champions League clash tomorrow after which they will go head-to-head with Valencia on Sunday.