Marseille will be cheering for Real Madrid, not PSG - Garcia

Allegiance to Zinedine Zidane overrides French loyalty for Marseille, says Rudi Garcia, who will be supporting Real Madrid against PSG.

Published : Feb 14, 2018 23:21 IST

Victory for Paris Saint-Germain over Real Madrid may boost Ligue 1's UEFA co-efficient but Marseille boss Rudi Garcia hopes to see Los Blancos celebrating in the Champions League.

PSG travel to the Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of the mouth-watering clash on Wednesday, a tie that pits Cristiano Ronaldo against Neymar and Zinedine Zidane against Unai Emery.

Garcia says part of him wants to cheer for their league rivals – PSG 13 points clear of third-placed Marseille after 25 matches – to boost their qualification spots for future UEFA competitions.

However, the presence of Zidane in the Madrid dugout means the former Roma boss will be hoping to see PSG come away with nothing from the Spanish capital.

"I'm going to watch the game, we'll all watch it together," Garcia told a media conference ahead of their Europa League clash with Braga.

"As French [people] we want French clubs to get points, it is important for the UEFA ranking. 

"We don't want the third place [in the league] having to play both play-off rounds in August to get to the Champions League, while Italy, Spain, Germany and England will look for their four ranked to get straight to the competition. It's important to get points.

"Saying that, when you wear Marseille colours and [consider] that tonight for the game you have one of the best French players in the history from La Castellane and Marseille, we can only support Real Madrid, obviously."

 

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