International

Messi on Hazard replacing Ronaldo, being benched & why Barcelona love playing at the Bernabeu

Prior to the crucial meeting between Real Madrid and Barcelona on Wednesday, Lionel Messi has commented on a number of problems raised in the football world, including why Barcelona appear to be playing better against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The top two La Liga teams will face off at Camp Nou Stadium at midweek. Barcelona top the table only because of the difference in goals, as the two teams have accumulated 35 points from the first 16 laps of the 2019/20 season.

Barcelona were held to a 2:2 draw at Anoeta by Real Sociedadin in the last match, while Real Madrid lost the chance to take the table top when stopped 1-1 by Valencia at Mestalla.

Spain’s reigning champion, Barcelona, ??won this showdown against Real Madrid 5-1 last season, achieving their first home win against Los Blancos in their last four attempts.

In contrast, Barcelona record four consecutive wins in their last games at the Santiago Bernabeu. Messi has admitted that the Barcelona squad manages to find more space when playing as a guest.

“When we play at the Bernabeu, we find a lot more space. They attack us more because they have this obligation as a home team and people punish them for it,” Messi told Marcan.

“At Camp Nou, they play differently, stick more defensively and are closer to each other and hit us counter-attacking because they have very fast players in the attacking unit.”

“At the Bernabeu, we play 90 minutes. Here the game becomes more closed and complicated.”

One man who in the past had a major impact on El Clasico’s encounters was Cristiano Ronaldo, who spent nine years at Real Madrid before joining Juventus in the summer of 2018.

Transfer Eden Hazard was expected to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s replacement in the Real Madrid squad this summer, but he has so far failed to meet the criteria set for him by fans.

“Hazard has many qualities. “He is a different player who can break the balance of defenders, but I think he is different from Cristiano, he has other characteristics.”

“It’s very difficult to replace Cristiano, but Hazard is a great player.”

Messi is among a number of more experienced players in the Barcelona squad who are being fired in several matches by coach Ernesto Valverde, as is the case with Sergio Busquets, Gerard Piquen’s Ivan Rakitic.

The six-time Golden Ball winner continued this interview by discussing how Ernesto Valverde selects the first line-up, evaluating him as necessary to keep all players motivated.

“In fact, I think we are all very important. There are some times when it is someone else’s turn to play and you have to admit it in the best way possible, be aware that everyone in the dressing room should feel important because we need everyone to be motivated to to achieve our goals.”

International

Ronaldo like Pogba in 2016?

Just like in the last European, that of 2016, Juve experiences the waiting competition to find out what will be the future of their star.

5 years ago the black and white executives remain anxious throughout the competition before the future of Paul Pogba was determined.

Reached the final with France, where he was defeated by Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Five years later, it is Ronaldo who keeps Juve’s market frozen, with his mind on the pitch and his staff trying to settle him away from Turin.

Different situations, but the summer of 2021 may have some analogies to what was experienced in 2016.

Pogba, after the European of France, decided his future during the holidays together with the agent Mino Raiola, between July and August.

He chose to return to Manchester United with a salary he could not refuse.

It was the most expensive transfer of the European market so far, an operation of 105 million euros, pretty good for Juventus who had received it four years ago with zero parameters.

Even the sale of Ronaldo would be positive for the financial logic of Juventus.

The player still has a one-year contract, with a net salary of 31 million euros, which costs the balance a total of 87 million euros, including fiscal obligations.

The Portuguese has not yet spoken about the future, but seems more inclined to leave Turin than in past summers.

For this reason he has given the mandate to agent Mendez to find an alternative.

PSG and Manchester United, where Pogba seems to be ending the adventure, remain valid hypotheses for the future of the footballer, who for now remains focused on defending the European title with Portugal.

He will decide on the continuation of his career later, as Pogba did in 2016.

International

Official: Hansi Flick is named Germany coach

It is now official.

Hansi Flick will sit on the bench of the German National Team officially after the end of the European Championship “Euro 2020”.

The news was announced by the German Football Federation, which has resolved the small details that were left to sign the agreement with the new German coach.

International

“If Ramos were Argentine, Messi would have won a World Cup”

One of Lionel Messi’s biggest disappointments is the loss in the 2014 World Cup, but Oscar Ruggeri believes that the Barcelona star would have that precious trophy if he had Real Madrid center-back Sergio Ramos as a teammate.

The former Boca Juniors defender, who won 97 games for Argentina, believes the team lacked a player of Ramos’ caliber.

“Argentina and Messi, with Ramos means a World Cup,” Ruggeri told ESPN. “He [Ramos] is a monster.

“If Argentina had Ramos on defense, they would be world champions.

“I would like to have a player like Ramos in my national team. If we had a player like Ramos today, we would be contenders for every World Cup.

“We had good central defenders but not the best of all time. Ramos is the best. It would have been nice if he had been Argentine. He is better than me, number one. He is above all,” said Ruggeri.

Messi will have one last chance in 2022 to win the World Cup, the trophy that the Argentine is missing.