Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster insists he isn't trying to "kill off" the club's junior development system.

He told AS: "I would've liked to have played Ruben de la Red (who joined Getafe), but we have 25 players in the squad, so he had to go.

"No-one should think I'm trying to kill off the youth system here because Adrian and (Esteban) Granero have left. It would've been easy to have kept them here, but what would be the point if they spent the season in the stands?

"It's far better they play in the Primera if they have the chance."