La Liga: Hope it's not Lionel Messi's final El Clasico, says Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said he hopes Lionel Messi stays at FC Barcelona beyond this summer and Saturday's game won't be his final El Classico.

Barcelona have travelled to Madrid to take on Los Blancos and whichever side wins the game will go at the top of the 2020-21 La Liga table. But league leaders Atletico Madrid would still have a game in hand.

"I hope it's not (Messi's last Clasico), I want him to stay at Barcelona, it's good for the Spanish league. We know what a player he is, but they're a very good team and we'll have to try to stop them playing to their strengths and be as good as we can be on the ball and play as best as we can," Zidane said in an interview on the eve of the El Classico.

Messi's current deal with Barcelona will expire at the end of the ongoing season. He has been linked with various European clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Manchester City. However, Barcelona's new president Juan Laporta has vowed to convince Messi to stay at Camp Nou but no deal has been reached yet.

Having been eliminated from the Champions League, a trophy which the Catalan club won last in 2015, it is understood that Messi will not consider continuing at his boyhood club until the side wins the league. After 29 matches, Barcelona are currently placed second, one point behind Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid are in the third slot, two points behind arch-rivals Barcelona.

Another player whose contract is due to expire in the summer of 2021 is Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos. In the same interview, Zidane has also expressed that he does not want Ramos to leave either.

"Hopefully he's not played his last Clasico. He won't be fit tomorrow, which is a shame, but I hope he stays here," added Zidane.

Real Madrid are going to be without Ramos, Raphael Varane, who continues to isolate following his positive COVID-19 test, as well as Dani Carvajal and Eden Hazard, who are still recovering from their respective prevailing injuries.

"I'm not thinking about losing or losing ground. We'll see what the situation is at the end of the game; we're going to give our all, we're positive and want to play our best game," said Zidane.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have played as many as 181 El Classico games in La Liga. Out of which, Madrid have won 74, the Camp Nou side 72, and 35 matches have ended in a draw.

With 26 goals on his account, Messi has scored more goals in El Classico than any other player. Former Real Madrid stars Alfredo Di Stéfano and Cristiano Ronaldo hold the joint-second place on the list of most goals, having scored 18 each.

Real Madrid captain Ramos has made the most appearances in the history of El Classico, one more than his Barcelona counterpart Messi.