"You cannot say VAR is why Real Madrid are ahead of Barcelona," claims former Blaugrana star Rivaldo

Former Barcelona icon Rivaldo believes that the Catalans' recent problems have nothing to do with VAR, and slammed their current style of play. In his opinion, technology is far from the reason for them being behind Real Madrid on the table.

The Blaugrana have been dislodged as leaders of LaLiga Santander and rivals Real Madrid are in a strong position to win the title. Barcelona crumbled under the pressure of the title race and dropped six crucial points upon the restart of the league.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu made some comments regarding the alleged 'favouritism' shown towards Real Madrid by the VAR team. Los Blancos have been given five decisions in their favour this year in LaLiga, with some of them proving to be crucial in the title race.

Barcelona's former Brazilian star begs to differ from Bartomeu, and believes that their main issues pertain to their lacklustre approach to the game.

Rivaldo highlights the 'low quality' of Barcelona's football

Speaking to Betfair, the current Barcelona ambassador began;

"In my opinion, Barcelona's problem is not the VAR or the refereeing decisions. The fundamental problem is the low quality of their football. They need to improve to return to their style and make everyone fall in love."

The 48-year-old continued,

It is normal that sometimes they [are] bothered by VAR decisions, but I've always said I do not think there is premeditation in arbitrations for Real Madrid or FC Barcelona [for VAR]."

Rivaldo firmly stated that he doesn't believe the notion of Real Madrid leading the table because of VAR. The Ballon d'Or winner believes that it is not right to make such claims, and that VAR isn't the reason for Los Blancos' position on the table.

He explained;

"Barcelona was the leader of LaLiga before the break and now the one ahead is Real Madrid. You cannot say that VAR is responsible for all this, especially when you see how Barcelona plays."

VAR has been one of the most intense topics of debate in Spain since the restart of LaLiga. This was the case after several decisions went in favour of Real Madrid and a few against Barcelona.

Bartomeu's comments hinted at a potential inequality in the way VAR decisions have panned out in recent times. However, Rivaldo rubbished those claims and believes that the comments were made to create a distraction from their underwhelming season.

The former Barcelona star said;

"Bartomeu's statements have different objectives, but fundamentally he intended to divert media attention from the turbulent moment that the team is experiencing. Accompanying the players in their criticism may seek to take some pressure off them at this moment so tense for the dressing room."

Rivaldo continued to explain the mindset behind said comments from the club president, saying,

"Although they are fighting for LaLiga, it is evident that they are going through a bad moment, so you start pointing out things like the VAR to justify yourself before the press and the fans and thus claim that it is not your fault, that of the players or that of the coach."

Barcelona currently sit four points behind Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid and are running out of time to retain their LaLiga title. However, unless the 33-time Spanish champions slip-up massively and drop points, a Barcelona title win looks unlikely.

Barcelona are set to travel to Valladolid, while Real are set to host Alaves at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium on Saturday.

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