Barcelona’s Brilliant Reply After Ronaldo Asks For Guard Of Honour
Reuters / Susana Vera
La Liga leaders Barcelona will not be performing a guard of honour for arch-rivals Real Madrid when the two sides lock horns in a crucial league encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Real won the FIFA Club World Cup for the third time in four years, as they beat Brazilian club Gremio 1-0 in the final courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick.
The Ballon d’Or winner stated later on that Barca should pay respect by performing a guard of honour for the world champions in club football, to which the Catalan club has clearly replied with a no.
According to a report in Goal, one of the directors of Barca, Guillermo Amor, ruled the idea out by saying that since they did not participate in the competition, they will not offer any tribute.
“We make it clear that we only do this when we participate in the competition. When we compete in the competition, we will do it but that is not the case. That’s the way it is,” said Amor.
Such an aspect is unlikely to occur though, as only the Champions League winner from Europe get to feature in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Barca have been in commanding form in La Liga, and their unbeaten streak continued after they dished out a 4-0 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna. They are currently six points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid.
The defending champions, on the other hand, trail behind the Catalan giants by 11 points in the league, with the former having played a game less.
Come Saturday, Zinedine Zidane’s men could cut the gap to eight points at home, which would be the best way to follow their 5th trophy win of the calendar year.
Written by Rajdeep Saha 
Sports journalist with stints across print, digital and television. Contribution to each medium has been thrilling. Experienced in writing for this passionate game called football. Journalist by choice and passion.