Barcelona are edging closer to winning the La Liga title this season, but Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane won’t be in a giving mood for El Clasico.
The two old rivals meet on May 6, at which point the Catalan giants may have already been crowned champions as their win over Leganes on Saturday night temporarily moved them 12 points ahead of Atletico Madrid with seven games remaining.
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As is tradition across many European countries, that would ultimately result in Madrid giving them a guard of honour ahead of kick-off, but as noted by the Metro, Zidane has already confirmed that Los Blancos will not do so.
It comes after Madrid didn’t receive one from Barcelona after they won the FIFA Club World Cup in December, and so as far as the French tactician is concerned, Barca have already broken that tradition and he has personally taken the decision for his players not to show their respect for the champions.
Gerard Pique was asked for his opinion on the matter following that win over Leganes, and he was evidently in a jovial mood as he aimed a cheeky sideswipe at Barcelona’s rivals.
“I won’t be able to sleep at night,” he is quoted as saying by The Express when asked about Zidane’s comments.
With the La Liga title, Copa del Rey and Champions League still on their list of objectives for this season, Barcelona will undoubtedly be hopeful of having the last laugh anyway by collecting an impressive trophy haul in Ernesto Valverde’s first campaign in charge.
Regardless of whether they get a guard of honour or not, they’ll be desperate to win major honours this season as Madrid will be left to analyse a disappointing campaign overall, albeit they are still firmly in the hunt for the Champions League too.