Casillas made his debut for the Real Madrid team as an 18-year-old several years ago. He has gone on to lift numerous trophies with the Spanish club, while also being considered as a legend by all those connected with Real Madrid. Portuguese defender Pepe has come to the defence of Casillas by saying that Mourinho should be showing more respect to the captain of the team. The rift between Mourinho and his players has been rumoured to be one of the main reasons for the club performing poorly this season.

“There needs to be a little more respect to Iker. Iker is well loved. What the coach said was not the most appropriate. Iker is a player who is part of Madrid. He’s an institution, both in this club and in Spain. Iker is an important player for us. We have the final of the Copa del Rey ahead of us. We want to give a title to our fans and I think every player is important at this moment,” said Pepe after the 4-3 win over Real Valladolid during the weekend.

Iker Casillas Video Score: 5 / five

Iker Casillas Video Ranking: 5 / five

Iker Casillas Video Ranking: four / five

When asked about his ankle problem, Ronaldo said, “There was nothing serious about my ankle. It was just a minor strain and it has got better now. I will definitely feature for Madrid against Manchester United.”

“That’s going to be a big game. Manchester United is a world class side as we all know. It’s not easy to beat them anywhere in the world. They have got quite a few great players. But, our team is also well balanced and we have been in fine form in recent times. So, it’s going to be an absolute thriller.”

Ronaldo had said last week that the Real Madrid team is stronger than Manchester United. When asked whether Real Madrid will go into that match as favourite, Ronaldo said, “No. I don’t think so. It’s a match between two very strong sides and the side which will execute its plans better on that particular day will win.”

“I believe that we have got a better team than them, but, we need to prove that on the field.”

Ronaldo played for Manchester United for six years between 2003 and 2009. He featured for the Red Devils in 196 matches and scored 84 goals. Real Madrid had bought Ronaldo from United after paying a record transfer fee of 80 million Pounds.

When asked about his Manchester United career, Ronaldo said, “I enjoyed every single bit of my tenure at United. I had some great times over there. That club has a special place in my heart.”

Iker Casillas Movie Score: 4 / five

However, Real Madrid suffered a 3-2 defeat in the match – although not as a consequence of the goalkeeper – and have fallen 16 points behind their arch rivals Barcelona in the table. This has hugely increased the pressure on the manager Mourinho, who has been widely tipped to leave the club at the end of the season. It is thought that most of the club’s board and the backroom staff are behind the 31-year-old Iker Casillas, who was strongly nominated for the FIFA world player of the year award. This has left the position of the manager hugely untenable in the remainder of the season, but Casillas backed the decision by saying that the manager was right to drop him.

“The coach decides which team he thinks is best for each match and you need to accept the decision. I’m not used to being a substitute but above Iker Casillas or any player is the team. What I need to do is continue training and try to recover the confidence of the coach. Throughout the week I could sense that I wasn’t going to play but it’s not a setback. The important thing was that the team won in Málaga to cut the gap to Barça and Atlético Madrid,” said Iker Casillas.

Iker Casillas Video clip Rating: 4 / five

After the 2-2 draw with Espanyol at the Santiago Bernebeu during the weekend, the club fell a massive 13 points behind Barcelona in the table. Even José Mourinho admitted after the match that it is now impossible for Real Madrid to win the title this season. He is widely expected to leave the club at the end of the season if the club do not win the Champions League title at least this season. Despite these problems, Casillas has maintained that the players still remained confident that José Mourinho is the right man to lead them. Casillas has pointed out to the league title that the club won last season after a gap of three years under the management of Mourinho.

“We all support Mourinho without any doubt. The situation we have is not favourable. We left two points behind [in the 2-2 draw with Espanyol]. We cannot be so far away from Barcelona,” said Iker Casillas after the Espanyol match. While Real Madrid could only draw the match against Espanyol, Barcelona managed a stunning 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid to go nine points clear at the top of the table. Many are suggesting that Barcelona already have one hand on the title.

Iker Casillas Online video Rating: 4 / 5