Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has addressed rumors of Lionel Messi's impending exit from Barcelona ahead of the weekend's El Clasico. The French manager has issued a plea to the Catalans to keep the Argentine at the club with his contract expiring at the end of the season.
Saturday's El Clasico will be Lionel Messi's 45th since making his senior debut for Barcelona in 2004. In his 17 years of service at the club, the five time Ballon d'Or winner has scored 26 times in the fixture although he has come short in recent years. The player's last goal in the fixture came in the 2017/18 campaign, when Barcelona was held to a 2-2 against their fiercest rivals at the Camp Nou.
The opportunity for Lionel Messi to get on the scoresheet against Real Madrid is on the horizon as the pair is set to feature in a potential title-decider at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. In the press conference held ahead of the clash, the Barca skipper's future came under scrutiny and Los Blancos Zinedine Zidane was asked for his insight on the subject. Although the Catalan club has often reiterated its desire to see the player remain at the club, he is yet to commit his future by signing a contract extension.
Regardless of this, Zinedine Zidane has implored Barcelona to do whatever it takes to keep their superstar at the club. Last summer, the Argentine came close to leaving Los Blaugrana on a free transfer but subsequently rescinded his decision. When asked about the possibility of Saturday's El Clasico being the Argentine's last, the Real Madrid manager said: "I don't want this to be the last 'clásico' for Messi.
"Hopefully he stays at Barcelona. He's good there and it's also good for the Spanish league.
Regarding his side's chances of keeping the Barcelona stalwart at bay, Zidane said: "We know what a player Messi is. He may not be scoring goals, but we know what a player he is.
"We are going to play against Barcelona. It's true that we know what a player he is, but they are all very good. We're going to try to stop their strengths, because there have a lot."
