Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane has refused to pick his preference between Paris Saints Germain striker, Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund forward, Erling Haaland, saying that the duo is prospects in the round leather game.
It is recalled that Madrid is in line for both players who have pulled great performance across Europe, their recent exploits the UEFA Champions League inclusively.
Mbappe was on the scoresheet against Barcelona in a 4-1 victory over, bagging a treble to conquer the Catalan giants at the knockout stage of the UCL. Haaland has bagged ten UCL goals in seven appearances.
But Madrid who will be facing Atalanta in their next UCL game upended Borussia Monchengladbach at the last UCL outing courtesy of Karim Benzema brace. But they will extend their six-game unbeaten run when they battle Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Zidane, at a press conference was asked to choose between Mbappe and Haaland, but the Frenchman refused to give his preference concluding that both players are good in their ways
“I watch all the matches. I like watching matches. I enjoy when I see good play, just like all fans.” Zinedine Zidane said
“Well, today I’m not going to reply to that. Each person has their preferences. The important thing is for fans to enjoy good young players.” he added
But he said both young players are prospects, like the way Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, and Cristiano Ronaldo who all have gotten to the peak of their careers
“We’ll see. They’re very good players like Cristiano, Messi, and Neymar have been. They’re younger and they’re showing that they are players for the present and the future. I like to watch football and watch good players. Do I prefer one over the other? ” he refused to pick one above the other.
The former Madrid player was asked whether club chief Florentino Perez had the intention to bring either Haaland or Mbappe to Santiago Bernabeu
“I don’t send him messages.” said Zidane
“We always do things together when it comes to transfers, speaking to the coach and those who work in the club. There will always be talk about who could come, and that won’t change, but we’re focusing on the day-to-day work.” he said.
But Zinedine Zidane charged Los Blancos to start thinking about the game they will playing tomorrow and not the UCL tie with Atalanta, as they need the maximum three points against Valladolid
“We’ve had five or six questions so far and not questions about the match tomorrow. I know there are other important things, but the important thing for us is the match tomorrow and the three points.”
“We’d be making a mistake to start thinking about Wednesday. But, I don’t think the players will make that mistake.” said the UCL winning coach
“We’ve had a very good week of work and now we need to show this good work on the pitch tomorrow. Real Valladolid are at home and need points too, so it should be a good match. There are 45 points still in play in this title race.” he stressed
Zidane said Benzema would not be available for selection due to a knock he picked in the training, but his fitness report will be monitored.
“He won’t be with us tomorrow because he has a pain. He suffered it yesterday. Then, we’ll have to wait to see how he is next week.”
From Sunday, we’ll look at how he is. We know how important Benzema is for us. We just need to think about who can play instead and then about trying to get him back as soon as possible.” he ended
Los Blancos will be facing tests from Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid-after playing Valladolid and Atalanta.
