Former Spanish International: Barcelona’s Victory Over Bayern Munich Shows Strength, but I Favor Real Madrid in El Clásico

The El Clásico will take place this weekend, with Real Madrid hosting Barcelona. Former Spanish international Alfonso Pérez, who played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, shared his thoughts on the match.

Pérez said, “Clearly, from yesterday’s match against Bayern Munich, Barcelona is full of passion, drive, and confidence, and they are currently in great form, but there is no clear favorite in such a game.”

“I will support Real Madrid because they have the home advantage and the motivation to fight for the top spot. This is an open game, with the two best teams facing each other, and I hope they don’t make it too difficult for us, even though Real Madrid often stages brilliant comebacks. This Real Madrid needs to find its rhythm, maintain stability in the game, and help the players build their pace and confidence gradually.”

Just days before the announcement of this year’s Ballon d’Or winner, Pérez expressed his fondness for Brazilian player Vinícius Júnior. He said, “I hope Vinícius wins the Ballon d’Or as a Real Madrid player. The match against Dortmund will be crucial for the voting. He is very persistent in his actions, and even if one attack fails, he will try again with his strength and speed. He needs to be more consistent in the game, perhaps make fewer mistakes, but he will still be a very important player in all matches.”

Despite Vinícius and French player Kylian Mbappé having high goal-scoring abilities, Pérez stated, “Real Madrid lacks a striker.” He said, “Historically, Real Madrid has always had a striker or even two. We have good players like Rodrygo, Mbappé, Vinícius, or Bellingham, but we lack that kind of player. For me, Erling Haaland is the number nine I would want in the team.”