Barcelona Ace Luis Suárez Dismisses Importance of Cristiano Ronaldo Absence Ahead of El Clàsico

Barcelona forward Luis Suárez has played down the significance of the upcoming El Clàsico match against Real Madrid being the first in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era, claiming that teams are more important than individuals.

With Ronaldo now a Juventus player, and Barça's Lionel Messi out with a broken arm, the 'Ronaldo vs Messi' narrative of the encounter will be absent for the first time in years as the two sides clash on Sunday afternoon. The pressure will be on Los Blancos to get a good result at the Camp Nou, as they currently sit five points off the top of La Liga in eighth place.

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Speaking ahead of Sunday evening's hotly anticipated clash, via Marca, the former Liverpool star said: "We all know what kind of player Cristiano Ronaldo is, but a team is always above any single player. They have other great players who can make the difference.

"We have to play without thinking about which players our opponents have. In the last Clàsico of last season we were already champions and played with great intensity. The matches are always like that. We really want to do well, you don't think about how the other team plays, you simply come into the game with intensity, it's a Clàsico and we live it to the maximum."

While the spectacle will undoubtably be lessened without the presence of the two footballing legends, the game will still be a captivating watch for fans and neutrals alike. With Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui's job believed to be on the line, he will be desperate to pull off a big win to hit back at his his critics.

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain defender Dani Alves has taken to social media to remind Barça of his qualities, as the Catalan giants reportedly step up their chase for a new right-back. The Brazilian ace posted a response to a news article claiming that his former club were lining up Juventus' João Cancelo.