Ronaldo SACKS close friend and ex-Arsenal star after manager complained he couldn’t pick the team he wanted

RONALDO NAZARIO has sacked close friend and former Arsenal star Julio Baptista from Real Valladolid.

The ex-Gunner had been the manager of the LaLiga outfit’s reserve team for five years.

Julio Baptista was sacked by Real ValladolidInstagram @juliobaptistaoficial

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Ronaldo Nazario is the club owner[/caption]

Baptista, 42, was relieved of his duties at Valladolid Promesas after he criticised the club’s management.

He claimed that he did not have the freedom to use the players that he wanted after a defeat to Ourense on Sunday.

The 1-0 loss was the second defeat on the bounce and he spoke out after the game.

He told PLACAR: “Until 10pm (the day before) I didn’t have the lineup for this game.

“There is an order of which players have to play and I, as a worker at the club, do what they ask of me.

“The way in which things are being done [at the club] is not the most appropriate.”

The words quickly prompted the club to take action and they sacked him and his coaching staff Jose Luis Rueda and Alfredo Fernandez.

Ronaldo took charge of the club in 2018 after he acquired 51 per cent of the club in a £27million takeover.

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The club released a statement thanking them for their service as well as revealing that Alvaro Rubio would be taking charge on an interim basis.

It read: “Real Valladolid have informed Julio Baptista that they are dispensing with his services and have appointed Alvaro Rubio as the new coach of Real Valladolid Promesas.

“The former captain, who has been part of the first team’s coaching staff since 2017, takes over the reins of managing the reserve team from this Thursday.

“This Wednesday’s session will be held, on an interim basis, by Javier Torres.

“Julio Baptista, who was in his fifth season at the club and his third at the helm of Promesas, no longer belongs to the Blanquivioleta discipline, in the same way as his deputy, Jose Luis Rueda, and his assistant, Alfredo Fernandez.

“The club would like to thank Julio Baptista, Jose Luis Rueda and Alfredo Fernandez for their performance as Blanquivioletas, while wishing them the best of luck in their new personal and professional stages.”

Valladolid’s sporting director, Domingo Catoira, has also claimed the decision was made because Baptista “undermined the image of the club”.

He told AS: “It is obvious that these are unfortunate statements because it undermines the image of the club.

“He probably did it in a moment of frustration with the result, but it’s a reality.

“I am surprised that you may not understand or agree with a model that has been in place for a long time and has not changed.”