Zidane: "It's absurd to think Madrid won't be in Champions League next season"

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said it's "absurd" to believe his side could be chucked out of the Champions League next season.

It's been suggested UEFA could take drastic measures against the four clubs that have yet to officially withdraw from the doomed European Super League which launched last week: Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona and Milan.

UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has said the 12 clubs involved could all be punished somehow, but has suggested he will be more lenient on the eight teams that backtracked.

In this respect, Zidane said that "it's absurd to think that we won't be in the Champions League next year. A lot has been said about this issue but we just have to be focused on (playing Chelsea on Tuesday).

"As we're not in control of anything else, we don't look at it. My opinion is that I want to see Madrid in the Champions League next season."

In addition, the French coach doesn't believe the divide with UEFA and the threats from the governing body will have any influence on the Champions League semifinal against Chelsea, who were also among the 12 founding clubs of the ESL.

"I think the referee will do his job, as always," Zidane added. "If we start thinking that everything being said is going to damage us, we're screwed. We're going to focus on what we do on the pitch, we can't control anything else.

"We're here to prepare for tomorrow's game. It's not that the rest does not interest us, but we're not here for that. We have a Champions League semifinal and we're focused on that."

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