Barcelona Vice-President Jordi Mestre claims “our players would never make statements” in the vein of Cristiano Ronaldo’s perceived attack on Real Madrid.
Ronaldo remarked Madrid “would be top” of La Liga “if my teammates were on my level” after the side’s 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Saturday, prompting Mestre to criticise him for calling out members of his squad, to the extent that he questioned whether the Portuguese would fit into Barca’s ethos.
“These are three more points, but the League isn’t won at the end of February,” he said after La Blaugrana’s 2-1 win against Sevilla on Sunday.
“It’s not a cliché. It’s true because we can drop points and I’m sure that Real Madrid can capitalise. In this League, no-one gives you anything.
“Whenever we’ve played against Sevilla, they’ve caused us many problems, so I guess the cup final will also be difficult.
“There were lots of discussions about Luis Enrique’s rotations last season, yet there hasn’t been this time around.
“Leo’s always involved. Even when he’s not playing, he’s always there. He makes the difference.
“We have a very powerful trident [attack], but those in behind also make sure the ball reaches them.
“I would’ve preferred a draw [between Madrid and Atleti], which is what was best for us.
“[On Neymar], the time is coming to negotiate and we’re confident of moving forward.
“Our players would never make statements like Cristiano did. We always look at these sorts of things before signing players.”
