SERGIO RAMOS HAS confirmed that Real Madrid will not give a guard of honour to rivals Barcelona when the champions emerge for El Clásico on Sunday.
The Leo Messi-inspired Catalan giants sealed the Spanish title with a 4-2 win over Deportivo last night, condemning the hosts to relegation at the Riazor.
Barca remain unbeaten in the league – a full 15 points clear of their nemeses from the capital.
Earlier this month, Real Madrid captain Ramos indicated that manager Zinedine Zidane had decided that his charges not give Barca a guard of honour should they seal the title in advance of the final Clásico of the season.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Madrid’s Champions League semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu, Ramos reiterated his club’s stance, confirming there will be no ceremonial ‘pasillo’ at Camp Nou this weekend:
Coach Zidane said it and it’s set in stone. We will not give Barcelona a guard of honour next weekend. Don’t ask me about it, let them enjoy their title and we will focus on Bayern from now on.
“Barcelona have completed a great season and won two titles,” added the Spanish skipper, who called for Madrid’s fans to help his side to complete their task at hand tomorrow night.
“We are playing almost a final tomorrow and we want our fans to be with us and carry us to a win. When we’ve made history we’ve always had our fans by our side and tomorrow can’t be any different,” said Ramos.
Speaking on 9 April, Zinedine Zidane said Madrid’s guard-of-honour snub was his decision, citing Barcelona’s failure to “follow the tradition” and give his side a guard of honour at the Bernabeu after Madrid won the Club World Cup.
