Mallorca suspend Rodriguez after benching complaint

La Liga side Mallorca suspended their midfielder Dani Rodriguez and stripped him of the captaincy on Wednesday after he complained about being benched against Real Madrid.

The 37-year-old playmaker, at the club since 2018, was not brought on during Mallorca's 2-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

After the game, Rodriguez hit out at coach Jagoba Arrasate for the decision.

"Mallorca has suspended the employment and salary of the player Dani Rodriguez," said the island club in a statement.

"The club also strips the footballer of the captaincy with immediate effect."

Rodriguez indicated that he felt that he should have been brought on ahead of new signing Jan Virgili, who arrived from Barcelona in the days before the match and did feature as a substitute.

"I hope Jan succeeds here and between all of us we can help him, but something like this sends a horrible message to the dressing room, that work, delivery and loyalty don't matter," complained Rodriguez on social media network Instagram.

"It hurts that a player who just got here, with one training session, has the chance to play ahead of team-mates who have been here for years defending this shirt with sweat and labour, putting the club above everything."