Rafa Benitez on the brink of a revolt as five players confront him over tactics

If Brendan Rodgers had hung on a little longer, an old favourite might have become available for the Liverpool job.

The rumours of unrest at Real Madrid just won't go away and the Spanish press are now reporting that five players have confronted Rafa Benitez over his tactics. Not just any five players either. Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, James Roriguez and Jese Rodriguez have all taken issue with the style of play adopted by the former Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea and Napoli manager. Despite sitting second in the La Liga table, with by far the best goal difference, there is growing frustration among Los Blancos about how the team are being asked to play. Goal-scorer Benzema was unhappy with being substituted during last weekend's 1-1 draw with city rivals Atletico, and now centre-half and fan favourite Ramos has aimed a jibe at Benitez. The Spain international conceded a penalty during the game, which Keylor Navas saved, but did not sound too worried about the prospect of Benitez taking him to task over the error.

"It was a childish mistake, but I won't lose any sleep over it. Anything that Benitez has to say he can say when he sees me. I'm not concerned or bothered. "We all make mistakes and we don't do it on purpose. Luckily Keylor was on hand and it didn't affect the final result. Just as people talk about my mistake, they'll talk about the substitutions."

Fond of a structured approach, Benitez was perhaps not a perfect fit for the goal-hungry Bernabeu crowd, but the waving of white hankies in the stands won't concern the manager. A steady stream of leaks and barbed comments from the dressing room could be more worrying, however.