Zinedine Zidane insists Real Madrid will not give Barcelona a guard of honour and that he ‘thinks’ Gareth Bale will stay put.
Barca could have won the Liga title by the time they host Madrid on May 6, while reports suggested Bale’s relationship with Zidane had ‘eroded’ after he was left on the bench against Juventus on Tuesday.
“We’re not going to do any guards of honour or think about what happen in a month, only the match against Atletico. We want to cut the deficit,” said the Coach at a Press conference for Sunday’s Derbi against Atletico Madrid.
“Atletico deserve where to be where they are. They’re second and we want to cut the deficit on them.
“No guard of honour for Barca? It’s my decision. The situation? It’s like it’s always been. We have a few days to rest, Atletico have even less.
“We have to focus on this game and not think about the others. We’re in a good run of form and we want to keep our good run going.
“How we determine who to rest? It’s done naturally. We talk to Cristiano and everyone else.
“When there are several matches in a row, someone has to rest and they know it. I won’t give details, they stay inside the camp, like I always say.
“There are moments in a season when things don’t go well for you. We’ve gone a long time without not scoring goals, but we’ve worked for it.
“Sometimes things don’t go for you, but you have to keep working. There are good and bad moments.
“The start of the season was difficult, but we can’t change it. We have to keep going. We want to finish this season well.
“We’ll be facing a very good team defensively and going forward. It’ll be a good game of football. Our intensity will be very important.
“It’s our obligation to give our all in every game and cut the deficit as much as possible. We always have to show that we want to win and be competitive.
“I don’t know how the season will end. Everyone thinks that the League is over, but we mustn’t stop.
“Bale? I understand [if he’s annoyed], but I have to make decisions. It’s normal because the players want to always be involved, and a player like him, who knows what he’s been, what he is, what he’s done for us…
“But those who have played lately have done very well. It’s complicated and I have to make decisions.
“It doesn’t mean anything if he hasn’t played for a game or two. I still think he’s an important player, he’ll have his chance again and I think he’s going to stay.”
