Ramos says Real Madrid will not give guard of honour tribute to Barcelona

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos on Monday said his club does not plan to give a guard of honour tribute to arch-rival FC Barcelona in their upcoming La Liga match, after the Catalan giants secured the Spanish league title.

Barcelona are to host Real Madrid on May 6, the home side's first league match after clinching the title with four games to spare by defeating Deportivo 4-2 on Sunday, reports Efe.

"The guard of honour issue was exaggerated. They won the title, which they wanted, and the guard of honour does not matter for them or for us," Ramos said at a press conference ahead of Tuesday's second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Bayern Munich.

"We said we would not give them a guard of honour and will focus on ourselves and seek another Champions League final," Ramos added.

When asked, Ramos did not downplay the local double that Barcelona won -- La Liga and the Spanish Cup -- although he highlighted the importance of winning the Champions League.

"It depends on which team, Barcelona won two titles and it is a great year for them because winning two titles has its merit; the Cup and La Liga is even more. Winning the Champions has that plus, and it would be a great season for us if we win two back-to-back," he added.

Real Madrid won 2-1 over Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final last week.

--IANS

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