Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez 'had boots stolen' at Real Madrid

Spanish midfielder Saul Niguez has claimed that he had his football boots and food stolen during his time in the Real Madrid youth system.

The 21-year-old, who now represents Atletico Madrid, has said that he is "not hurt by what happened" at Los Blancos, but admitted that it was an uncomfortable experience for a young player.

"I'm not hurt by what happened because it was a good experience in that I learned a lot of things, I matured a lot as a person," Saul told El Mundo. "A lot of things happened off the field. The sporting side went well but some things happened which shouldn't happen to a kid of 11, 12 years of age.

"I had my boots stolen, my food, I was punished for something I didn't do and I wasn't allowed at the training ground in Valdebebas for two weeks. Someone wrote a letter, signing it with my name and sent it to the coach. I said that the letter wasn't from me because I had nothing to do with it."

Saul represented Real Madrid between 2006 and 2008, before switching to Atletico, where he has developed into a key player this term.