Zinedine Zidane avoided mentioning Brazilian Neymar and Frenchman Paul Pogba in his press conference on the eve of Real Madrid's league debut, focusing on the players he has in his squad and expressing his desire for Japanese Kubo to stay and not go out on loan.
"Neymar is not a Real Madrid player. The important ones are the ones who are here," he said when asked about the Brazilian. "Paul belongs to Manchester United and we have to respect that. We are thinking about tomorrow's match," he added about Pogba.
The smile that Zidane lost during preseason due to Real Madrid's poor results, returned in the press room of the Valdebebas sports city, from where he conveyed a message of satisfaction with the squad he has.
"I am content with what I have, we have talked about it with the right person from the club with whom we have to do things. We have these players and that's what interests us, we cannot talk or give opinions about the rest. We are with the players who are here," he said.
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"I am who I am, from time to time everyone has their mood and after a match when things don't go well I can't smile, but I'm not going to lose my smile. We play football, we love it, and we are lucky to work in what we love. Others have a worse life and we are very lucky to be at Real Madrid," he added, downplaying the fact that desired players have not arrived.
Meanwhile, he expressed his wishes for Kubo, whom he wants to see training with the first team throughout the season and competing with Raúl González's Castilla.
"Kubo is a Real Madrid player and he has a future. We know that anything can happen until the 31st, but I hope he stays here training, progressing, and starting to play with Castilla. It is important because he is the future of Real Madrid," he said.
Zidane made it clear that the age of the players does not matter to him and that he counts on Brazilian Vinicius. "He is 18 years old but age has nothing to do with it, he is an important player and I will count on him like everyone else."
"The important thing is that the players are ready because then it's me who has to choose the team. It's complicated but it's my job. We are going to have many matches and I trust everyone," he concluded.
(EFE)