Barcelona’s Off-field Saga Won’t Derail Their Season – Zidane

Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane has said he does not expect rivals, Barcelona to be weakened by their current off-pitch unrest.

A recent saga began at Camp Nou after Lionel Messi blasted director of football Eric Abidal for suggesting that some players did not work hard enough for Ernesto Valverde before he was fired by the club.

Speaking recently, Zidane, who did not react to the problem at hand, said it most likely won’t derail or affect their season negatively.

He added that Barcelona will keep competing until the current campaign is over.

On if his club can take advantage of their troubles, “It’s never like that, it’s not about that.

“They’re not going to be weak, they’re a very competitive team. We’re not thinking about that for one minute.

“They will compete with us until the end of the season. Good players are always good.”

On his club, “We have good momentum, we have to keep going in the same way.

“There’s a long way to go yet, we haven’t won anything yet and that’s what it’s all about. You can be happy when you’ve won something, but we haven’t won anything yet.”

On their next La Liga clash vs Real Betis, “It’s like a final,”

“It’s not like a quarter-final, It’s just one game.

“I don’t think they’re going to come here and give an inch. We have to be really focused, switched on right from the start.

“It’s a really good team, as they’ve shown all season. They play really good football. It’s a team that’s going to come here and try to do things well.”