Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos: 'Every passing day I like the Premier League more'

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has revealed that "with every passing day I like the Premier League more" after Los Blancos suffered their second consecutive defeat.

After losing to Valencia in La Liga at the weekend, the Champions League holders suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to neighbours Atletico in the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie, leaving them with a mountain to climb to reach the next round.

Atletico opened the scoring with a penalty converted by Raul Garcia after a foul by Ramos in the 57th minute.

It looked a clear penalty and the referee didn't hesitate before pointing to the spot. However, Ramos believed the decision was harsh and suggested an English referee wouldn't have given the penalty.

"I'm not going to talk about controversial issues and certainly not that incident. The only thing I will say is that with every passing day I like the English Premier League more," he said, according to AS.

"What am I talking about? Obviously not about the ball-boys...the style of play, referring. People enjoy watching that competition. When one loses it's easy to focus on the referring decisions".

Ramos's comments about the Premier League come at a time when his future at the Santiago Bernabeu is under scrutiny, due to the delays in his negotiations with the club regarding a new contract.

Even though the Andalusian defender is under contract until 2017, former Real Madrid sporting director Arrigo Sacchi recently revealed Ramos himself had told him president Florentino Perez is not prepared to meet his wage expectations.

Ramos then denied this, but some reports in Spain claimed that Arsenal and Manchester United are monitoring the situation, as both Arsene Wenger and Louis van Gaal are looking for a player to lead their back-lines.

"I have a lot of affection and respect for [Sacchi] -- he was an important person when I signed for Madrid. I was with him a long time [but] I explained in my tweet: I do not do things for money. I never have" Ramos said.

"In this sense it depends on my happiness, and that of the president. I do not believe there will be any type of problem to reach an agreement.

"My agent is there for that, to communicate with the club. I have a few years left on my contract, and my intention is to stay at the team that has given me almost everything."