Atletico Madrid captain Maxi Rodriguez has hit out at Valencia coach Ronald Koeman and his dumping of veteran trio David Albelda, Santiago Canizares and Miguel Angel Angulo.

Maxi rapped: "It's hard, because they are players with a lot of history and a relationship with Valencia. It is a very difficult and uncomfortable time for them. No player of their quality deserves dismissal, so to speak, but one is not there and does not know what has happened.

"But these are things that have come into football. Football has changed a lot and lost a lot respect, but I hope that we, the players, and the leaders will agree that these things cannot happen at Atletico."