Zinedine Zidane admits Cristiano Ronaldo’s rest against Sevilla midweek was not a one-off as the Real Madrid star needs a break “from time to time”.
Speaking at a Press conference for Saturday’s La Liga game against Granada, in which a draw or win would see Madrid equal Barcelona’s record of 39 matches unbeaten, Zidane also acknowledged the storm engulfing Gerard Pique and referees.
“Pique? I’m not looking into it, I don’t want to be drawn into this debate, we’re thinking about tomorrow’s game and that’s it,” said the Coach.
“I’m not going to comment on the referees, it’s very difficult to do so. I’m only thinking about trying to do my best tomorrow, not what happened on Thursday.
“It’s complicated. I must stress the difficult job of the referees, but I won’t get into them.
“Rest for Ronaldo? We’ve talked about it, the only thing you [journalists] need to think is that he’s a very intelligent player.
“My idea is to have a fit Cristiano throughout the season. Having 20 games in 70 days, he also needs to rest from time to time.
“That’s how I see it, and so does he. He always wants to play, but talking to him always ends well. We want to win everything ahead of us.”
