Sergio Ramos Claims Ceremonial Guard of Honour Is Overvalued Ahead of El Clasico

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has claimed that not performing a guard of honour in next month's Clasico will not be intended to cause any disrespect towards champions-elect Barcelona.

The defender claimed that there is "too much value" on teams performing a guard of honour once their opponents have won the league - something which Barcelona can do in April.

However, Ramos added that the final will decision over performing the ceremonial pre-match ritual will be left to Zinedine Zidane's discretion ahead of their trip to the Camp Nou in May.

David Ramos/GettyImages

"Not performing a guard of honour doesn't mean we don't respect Barcelona," Ramos explained after Los Blancos held their city rivals Atlético to a 1-1 draw on Sunday, quoted by Marca. "I've always said that we'll do what the coach tells us to.

"People put too much value on the guard of honour, if the boss has said no then we have to respect him."

Barcelona defender Gerrard Piqué had his own say over the potential guard of honour this weekend by poking fun at Real Madrid with a light-hearted joke.

The 31-year-old has followed Ernesto Valverde's lead and largely avoided questions surrounding next month's Clasico. But, when asked by Movistar Partidazo (via Marca) about what his thoughts were about the guard of honour, Piqué responded: "I'm not going to sleep tonight."

No one involved with Barcelona would have given a thought towards the potential guard of honour against Real Madrid as all eyes are firmly on securing another La Liga title. The Blaugrana are currently sitting 11 points clear of second-placed Atlético with only seven games remaining this season.