Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos admits that Los Blancos would have won “more titles” if Lionel Messi had not played for Barcelona.
Although, the 35-year-old Spaniard already has four Champions League and five La Liga titles to his name and could further add to his cabinet this season.
With Real Madrid closing in on rival Atletico for the domestic title, and having one foot in the Champions League semi-final, Los Blancos are likely to plot a title coup at the expense of their arch-rival Barcelona.
However, Ramos has insisted that Real Madrid would have thrown more victory parties had Messi not formed a habit of dashing the dreams of their Clasico rivals down the years.
Ramos in his documentary series ‘The Legend of Sergio Ramos’ 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.”
Ramos watched from the stand on Tuesday as his side edged Liverpool 3 – 1 at home to bolster their chances of making it to the semi-final of the elite competition.
The former Sevilla defender will also miss the El-Clasico clash on Saturday due to a calf problem.
Real Madrid are third on the log with 63 points, three adrift leaders, Atlectico. While they also trail Saturday’s opponent and second placed Barcelona by two.
