Real Madrid boss Lopez Caro insisted that Ronaldo’s statements of his desire to leave the club played a major role in their defeat to Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League match on Tuesday.

“I believe that Ronaldo was mistaken in revealing his desire to leave the club to the media, he should have kept that between us. The statement had many negative impacts on the general team harmony right before the Arsenal match,” Caro told the official Real Madrid website on Saturday.

Real, who suffered a 1-0 loss to the Premiership club in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, will next face Mallorca in the Spanish league’s round-25 match that will take place on Sunday.

“Without a doubt, our loss to Arsenal affected us greatly, but our campaign is far from over, nevertheless, we now need to concentrate on our coming match against Mallorca on Sunday,” Caro said.

Asked about his expectations for the Mallorca encounter, the Real head coach said: “It will be a very hard match, especially since we will play against a struggling team on their ground and between their fans.”

Real come in third place in the La Liga standings with a tally of 48 points, one point behind runners-up Valencia and seven points behind leaders Barcelona.