Real Madrid have terminated the contract of youth coach Alvaro Benito over comments he made about Casemiro following the first team's Copa del Rey defeat to Barcelona.

Benito singled out Casemiro and Toni Kroos for criticism as he offered a scathing assessment of Wednesday's 3-0 loss, which ended Madrid's participation in the competition at the semi-final stage.

Speaking to radio station Cadena Ser, Benito said: "The problem is there are players that are playing very far from their level.

"I'm talking about Casemiro who at the moment is not good enough to play even a minute for Real Madrid. Kroos is fantastic when the wind is in his favour, when it goes against him he abandons ship."

Madrid have now taken the decision to part company with the 42-year-old and reportedly replace him with club legend Raul, who has previously spent time working with Los Blancos' younger players.

The European champions face Barcelona for the second time in the space of three days on Saturday, with La Liga points on the line at the Bernabeu.