Man City defender takes dig at Mbappe, praises Messi and Neymar | OneFootball

Real Madrid are all set to square off against Manchester City tomorrow night at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout playoffs.

Real Madrid go into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in La Liga and their performances this season against big teams has been far from convincing.

As such, Carlo Ancelotti & co. will be up against it when they take on Pep Guardiola’s men, who themselves have performed well below their best this season.

Ruben Dias fires shots at Kylian Mbappe

In the buildup to Tuesday’s match, Manchester City defender Ruben Dias spoke at the press conference along with Pep Guardiola.

During the media interaction, the Portuguese centre-back appeared to take a big swipe at Real Madrid megastar Kylian Mbappe, who will have a huge role to play in tomorrow’s contest.

“I played against Mbappe many times, even when he wasn’t the best player on his team, because Neymar and Messi were there,” noted Dias, talking about Mbappe’s time at PSG.

Ruben Dias and Kylian Mbappe will be in a direct battle on Tuesday. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The Manchester City mainstay was also asked about Real Madrid’s decision to boycott the Ballon d’Or ceremony last year as a protest against Vinicius Jr. not winning the prize. In response, he said:

“I don’t think for a second that it was disrespectful. I was with Rodri and we celebrated it.”

Real Madrid eliminated Manchester City from the Champions League last season, beating them via penalties in the quarterfinals. When asked if they had revenge on their mind heading into tomorrow’s game, Dias responded:

“We know how difficult it is to beat Real Madrid. Last year was frustrating because we dominated the game and lost on penalties.

“We know that the style of play is different and they will make things difficult for us. We have to fight harder than ever because only then will we be able to win.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo