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Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has heaped praise on Barcelona star Lionel Messi ahead of this weekend's El Clasico.
Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos have had a healthy rivalry on the pitch. The two are now captains of their respective teams and are set to go head-to-head on Saturday night.
Sergio Ramos has won many titles during his time at Real Madrid but claims that his trophy count would've been higher if it wasn't for Lionel Messi's presence at Barcelona.
In his documentary series The Legend of Sergio Ramos, the Real Madrid captain said:
"We've suffered against Messi during these years. Perhaps if Barcelona didn't have him, we would have won more titles. There was a time when we faced the best Barcelona in history. We had a great coach like [Jose] Mourinho, but it was hard for us to beat them. We didn't win much and there was a lot of tension, caused by either them or by us."
Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi's contract situation at Real Madrid and Barcelona
Both Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi will see their club contracts expire at the end of the season. However, the two players are in different situations. While Real Madrid are not offering the Spaniard the contract he wants, Barcelona already have an offer on the table for the Argentine.
When the Spaniard was recently asked if he would welcome Lionel Messi to Real Madrid in the summer, he said:
"Of course, 100%!. He could stay at mine for the first week or so. He can find his feet and get comfy, I'd be more than happy to do that. Us Madrid fans have had to endure Leo's best years [with him at another team] so to not have to face him every week would be great and to have him with us would obviously help us to win and have more success. It would be stupid to say it wouldn't."
However, Sergio Ramos admits that a move to Real Madrid is impossible for Lionel Messi for the same reason that he would never join Barcelona.
