Real Madrid legend: Barcelona are the favourites in the Clasico, and the Negreira case must be closed
Jorge Valdano, the Real Madrid legend, spoke about the eagerly awaited Clasico against Barcelona, tomorrow Sunday, at the Spotify Camp Nou, in the top fixture of the tenth round of this season's La Liga.
Speaking on the programme Un café en las alturas, Valdano named Barcelona clear favourites. The Sport newspaper published his remarks.
He added: "But Real Madrid are capable of winning on any pitch. They have a wonderful squad, but they are facing difficulties in building their play."
"What Real Madrid need is to get the ball to the forwards more quickly and more effectively," he continued. "If they manage that, Real Madrid will be one of the teams that is hard to stop in Europe this season."
Valdano reflected on the great level being shown by Barcelona under the leadership of Hansi Flick, and on the value of the La Masia academy.
"Players have emerged whom we probably would not have seen at Barcelona were it not for the economic crisis," the Real Madrid legend said. "I am not talking about Cubarsi or Yamal, as they possess exceptional talent. There are other players who are the product of the crisis."
On the Negreira case, he was blunt. The matter should already have been settled, he insisted: "The case cannot remain open, because it is a continuous source of controversy."
Was Mourinho the ideal coach for a Real Madrid dressing room that endured major turbulence last season? Valdano said yes. "He is someone with strong and authoritative leadership, and he is completely different from Ancelotti, Zidane and Del Bosque, who achieved enormous success with Real Madrid."
Reminded of the disputes that broke out between him and the Portuguese coach during their time together at the club in 2010-2011, Valdano did not dodge the question.
"We had two different visions, and we ended up clashing," he said. "I always believed that intelligent people eventually reach a point of convergence, but I realised in this case that this does not always happen, and that the differences are sometimes so great that it becomes impossible to reach common ground."
Asked to name the player who deserves the Ballon d'Or, Valdano hedged. "There are 5 candidates," he said, reeling off Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Rodri without favouring one over the others.
