Zidane addresses the rumors of Cristiano Ronaldo’s extension with Real Madrid

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane talked to the press ahead of the team’s match against Leganes in the Copa del Rey Quarterfinals —Thursday, 21:30 CET—. The French coach shared his thoughts on the rumors suggesting that Ronaldo demands a contract extension in order to stay with the club next season.

“We know people what are saying, but what Cristiano has to do is think about playing, like he always does. I just want to talk about his performance and what he can bring to the team on the field. Cristiano is at his club, where he should be. The club, the fans and everyone loves him. I always say the same, I can’t imagine Real Madrid without a Cristiano. The footballing side is what interests me the most. People are talking about this at a difficult time talk for the team, but we still believe that things are going to change,” said Zidane.

“I don’t want to talk about the contract or things like that. Cristiano can do that and it’s him and the club who should talk about that. What I talk to Cristiano about are on-field matters. It’s better for everyone. Those upstairs manage it and I don’t get involved,” he added.

Real Madrid have been struggling this season and are already 19 points behind Barcelona in La Liga table, meaning that Los Blancos won’t defend the title they conquered last year. Still, Zidane and his men have to stay positive and compete for the Champions League and Copa del Rey. That’s why Thursday’s match seems so important.

“There’re a lot of key aspect for tomorrow. We’re going to play it like a knockout. It’s not a final, but all the games we have now are of huge importance. It’s a match away from home, a cup match and we’ve spoken about it, it’s a cup game and you have to go out and give everything. The results are important and it’s important not to concede and score goals. We have to play with intensity from the beginning to the end of the game. It’s important to keep a clean sheet because it’s a knockout game. We’re playing away from home, we don’t want to concede goals and we want to score them. It’s always important to go out like that when you play away. Bearing in mind the difficulty of the game, we’ll be thinking about the two matches as always,” explained the coach.

Zidane could be on the hot seat if Madrid end up failing in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey but the French coach will take things one game at a time.

“I don’t overthink anything, I live day to day and I’ll not change that. The situation is what it is today. In the two years that I have been here, when we have won a lot, I’ve always said the same thing. I know the situation and what this club is like and I always go day to day,” concluded the coach.