Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane speaks out over selection dilemma ahead of Liverpool: ‘I'm f*****’
Zidane's side play at Villarreal in their final league game of the season before playing Liverpool in the Champions League final
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Your support makes all the difference.Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has said he is “f*****” now that he finally has a full squad available to him again, with 24 fit players posing him with a serious selection headache.
Zidane's side play at Villarreal in their final league game of the season and can still snatch second place on goal difference if city rivals Atletico Madrid lose at home to Eibar.
And now that Cristiano Ronaldo and Dani Carvajal have been passed fit for both Villarreal and Liverpool, Zidane has some important decisions to make.
“I have 24 players available and I'm f*****,” he said. “Sorry, but I can't find a better word, because there are players that will stay in Madrid and not come with us for the last two games. That's the hardest part for me.”
Zidane insisted Saturday's game at Villarreal, who are assured of a Europa League spot, was not a dress rehearsal for the showdown with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in Kiev on May 26.
“Absolutely not. They're completely different teams. Villarreal play out from the back, that's not how Liverpool play,” the Frenchman said.
“It's crucial for us to play a good game, the last one in preparation for the final. Then we've got a week to get ready for that game, working on all the details. They're two very different teams.”
Real are bidding to become the first club to be crowned European champions for three successive seasons since Bayern Munich in 1976.
“It's huge,” Zidane added. “It means a lot, above all that the work we're doing here is good and we've got through to the players as we wanted.
“The players are very hungry to go on winning and they've shown that."
Villarreal have finished in LaLiga's top six in each of the last five seasons since winning promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt in 2013.
Boss Javi Calleja said there would be no better way for his side to finish another successful campaign by beating Real on the final day.
“Winning would be good for many things, it would give us fifth place, prestige and it would be an unbeatable way to end the season,” he said in quotes reported on the club's official Twitter account.
Calleja confirmed Saudi Arabia midfielder Salem Al-Dawsari has been added to his squad.
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