Baptista denies the fact that there was any party

Real Madrid and Brazil forward Julio Baptista, along with teammate Robinho, was dropped for this weekend's visit to Espanyol after returning late from international duty. Now, Baptista denies that they were late because of a party, and insists that the matter has been sorted out...

ulio Baptista has told Spanish sports daily Marca that there is no case to answer regarding an alleged party that kept he and Robinho from returning to Real Madrid.

After Brazil's 5-0 win against Ecuador in the World Cup qualifiers, reports indicated that Madrid pair Baptista and Robinho were out celebrating until the small hours, this being responsible for their late return to the Bernabeu.

This untimely arrival back in Spain meant that they were unable to train in time for Saturday's ill-fated encounter with Espanyol, both being left out.

Baptista has now attempted to publicly clear the air.

"There were problems with air traffic, so we can't be blamed for the delay," he said of the six hour setback.

"Hopefully we weren't affected by this, but because of the flight times we were unable to get to training.

"I understand that if we don't train then we can't play: that's normal. But it still hit us hard."

Indeed, Robinho was cagey about the prospect of any party.

He said, "Who originated the story about the party? I don't know. I don't understand. They should have been talking about [Brazil's] match and how well Robinho played. He played well and that made us all happy.

"There's nothing to deny."

He also said that both he and the club coach, Bernd Schuster, have put the issue behind them.

"Was Schuster angry? No. He talked with us, but wasn't angry.

"He was a bit annoyed, but that's to be expected. We arrived late and couldn't train, so we couldn't play. The boss was calm, though, and there was nothing strange.

"Fines? We've already spoken to him, so everything is cleared up. But from now on we'll need to give more communication so that it doesn't happen again."

The ex-Arsenal man continued, "Our mistake was not telling the club [about the delays]. We should have called to let them know we'd be late. I won't repeat that mistake."

Baptista, 26, was thought to be a candidate for being sold on during the summer, but remains at the Bernabeu. He feels that he will stay after the January transfer window closes, too.

"I have no news [of a winter transfer]," he insisted.

"I'm a Real Madrid player and will continue to be one. We'll talk at the end of the season."

'The Beast' has played just 54 minutes of Liga football this season.