Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Zinedine Zidane's surprising statement about Lionel Messi

The French Zinedine Zidane, coach of Real Madrid, this Friday expressed his wish that the Argentine star Lionel Messi continue in Barcelona, his rival in the classic tomorrow, for the good of the player and the Spanish League. "Let him stay at Barcelona, it's fine there... and also for the Spanish League," replied Zidane with a smile when asked about Messi's last classic against Real Madrid.

"We know the player who's Lionel Messi, but they are all very good and we are going to try to counteract his forces, we are going to try to get a good game with the ball", said Zidane, according to statements released by the AFP agency.

The Real Madrid coach will not be able to count on defender and captain Sergio Ramos for this meeting, although he trusts that he - like Messi in the Catalan team - will have other classics to play. Ramos' renewal at the Madrid club is still pending. "He's not going to play tomorrow, but I hope he stays here", Zidane said.

Real Madrid and Barcelona play a lot of their aspirations for the title in the League - led by Diego Simeone's Atlético Madrid - in this match, but Zidane considers that "it's a very competitive League, all teams can win". Atlético Madrid has 66 points, just one more than Barcelona and three more than Real, so anything can happen. "I don't know how many points are left now, but many. Until the end we will not know who wins," said the French DT.

"Tomorrow there're three points, just like Eibar, Cádiz, the others. The impact isn't the same, but it is three points. We are going to try to win the game, as always, knowing the difficulties, but it is three points, nothing. more", Zidane insisted.

The merengue coach admitted that "we're in a good moment and we have to continue, thinking that we have a lot at stake", and that he doesn't think about how a defeat would complicate them. "I'm not thinking about that, we are thinking about preparing for the game, we will see the consequence at the end, we are working to make a great football match," he concluded.