Ramos: 'Spanish World Cup exit due to managerial changes'

Spain managed to finish top of Group B in this summer's World Cup but were shockingly sent home by hosts Russia following a penalty shootout.

The result shocked the footballing world, and while Russians were celebrating one of the most famous victories in their history, Spanish players and fans were left heart-broken at the result in Moscow.

There has been much written in the days since the result, with many hailing the end of a Spanish 'Golden Generation' and believing that the exit in the last-16 stage shows that Spanish international football needs a complete changing of the guard to succeed in future.

Despite all these grand claims about the future of the 2010 world champions, captain Sergio Ramos believes that the embarrassing result that his team suffered has a more simple explanation.

Just days before the tournament began, it was announced that Julen Lopetegui was being sacked from his role as head coach of the national side following the confirmation that he would take over the job of Real Madrid manager next season.

In an open letter written upon his return to Spain that was published in Marca, Ramos said that: "And when we had not yet started, something happened that we did not expect. I will not value acts or decisions, but instability is never a good companion."

However, the Real Madrid defender wanted to emphasise that despite the difficulty the squad faced, they remained together throughout.

"We could have done better, we should have done better, but not only I'm not ashamed, I'm proud to be the captain of this fantastic group of players," he concluded.