"I’ve known Romelu a bit longer" - Real Madrid star wants Inter Milan man to win UCL ahead of Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois wants Inter Milan to win the UEFA Champions League this season ahead of Manchester City. This is because of the fact that he has been friends with Romelu Lukaku for a longer period of time than Kevin De Bruyne.
Inter and City will clash in the final of the competition at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul. Pep Guardiola's side defeated Los Blancos by an aggregate score of 5-1 in the semi-final while Inter earned a 3-0 aggregate win over AC Milan.
Speaking about his preference for winning the final, Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois told Prime Video Sport:
“I hope Lukaku wins the UCL. Obviously it’s him against Kevin [de Bruyne] but I’ve known Romelu a bit longer. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Inter Milan are aiming to win their first Champions League since the 2009-10 season. Diego Milito's brace in the final against Bayern Munich helped the Nerazzuri win the competition that year.
City, meanwhile, are searching for their first UEFA Champions League title. Despite domestic dominance, European glory has eluded Pep Guardiola's side. Whether they can bring an end to the drought remains to be seen.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke ahead of the Sevilla clash
Real Madrid are set to take on Sevilla in a La Liga away clash on May 27. While Carlo Ancelotti's team can't win the league, they are keen to finish the season in a strong manner.
The Italian coach echoed the same sentiment. Los Blancos enter the contest against Sevilla on the back of a 2-1 win against Rayo Vallecano. Ancelotti wants yet another good performance from his team.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Sevilla clash, he said (via Real Madrid's website):
"We want to finish the season on a high. We have two games left, the first will be difficult because we're up against opposition who play some great football. We're without Vini Jr., Benzema and Asensio, everyone else is fine."
He added:
"We'll try and give it our best, as ever. We're good from a morale point of view, the win over Rayo did us good. I hope we can win tomorrow as well. Tomorrow's game will be hard-fought and full of quality."
Real Madrid have 74 points from 36 matches and are second in the league table. They lead third-placed Atletico Madrid by a point at this point in time. Sevilla, meanwhile, are 10th with 49 points from 36 games.