FILE - Barcelona’s Ferran Torres, center, challenges Mallorca’s Dani Rodriguez for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Mallorca at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, May 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort, File)
Mallorca suspends its captain after he complained that his kids didn’t get to see him play at Madrid
MADRID (AP) 鈥 Spanish club Mallorca has suspended midfielder Dani Rodr铆guez without pay and stripped him of his captaincy after the veteran publicly complained that he did not get to play in the team’s match against Real Madrid, when his family was in attendance.
FILE - Barcelona’s Ferran Torres, center, challenges Mallorca’s Dani Rodriguez for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Mallorca at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, May 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort, File)
MADRID (AP) 鈥 Spanish club Mallorca has suspended midfielder Dani Rodr铆guez without pay and stripped him of his captaincy after the veteran publicly complained that he did not get to play in the team’s match against Real Madrid, when his family was in attendance.
Mallorca Wednesday saying Rodr铆guez 鈥渉as been suspended from duty and pay,鈥 and that the club 鈥渉as stripped him of his captaincy with immediate effect.鈥
Rodr铆guez was an unused substitute in on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. After the match, the 37-year-old player posted on Instagram a photo of his family at the stadium, accompanied by a text in which he complained about not getting any minutes.
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He said he had traveled to Madrid with his kids being 鈥渆xcited鈥 about the opportunity to see his dad play at the Bernabeu.
鈥淎n important lesson and piece of advice for them: Never expect anything from anyone, especially these days, when meritocracy, culture, and respect for hard work are lacking,鈥 Rodr铆guez wrote. 鈥淒on鈥檛 do things expecting something in return. Do it for yourself and your passion.鈥
He later followed that post with an open letter published by Spanish media, where he said he respected the decisions by coach Jagoba Arrasate, and that he wasn’t upset because his kids did not get to watch him play.
鈥淲hat I can鈥檛 accept is the lack of respect for commitment and dedication,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t hurts when a player who just arrived, with just one training session, has the opportunity to play ahead of teammates who have spent years defending this jersey with sweat and dedication, always putting the club above all else.鈥
Rodr铆guez was apparently referring to recently signed forward Jan Virgili, who was picked by Arrasate to enter the match in the 87th minute.
鈥淚 hope Jan succeeds here and that together we can all help him,鈥 Rodr铆guez said. 鈥淏ut when something like this happens, it sends a terrible message to the locker room: work, dedication or loyalty don鈥檛 matter. That鈥檚 what angered me.鈥
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Rodr铆guez said he wrote the letter to clear things up because his family was 鈥済oing through a tough time.鈥
Rodr铆guez had not made any publicly statements since Mallorca announced the suspension.
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