Former Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon has claimed that the current Los Blancos lineup is so strong that it hardly needs reinforcements in the summer. Calderon felt that even the backup players in Zidane's team are very good and there was strength in depth at the club.
"I think we have a team which is very, very strong. I don’t think we need any player. I wouldn’t sign anyone. I think the substitutes have been playing very well. In some matches, only two starters played in the line-up alongside the substitute players and still they played well. I don’t think there is a need to sign anyone," he said.
The 65-year-old was speaking to Goal exclusively in Doha at the Qatar Football Awards, wherein he also touched upon the upcoming Champions League final, Cristiano Ronaldo's new role in the team, Gonzalo Higuain and the money being generated by the English clubs.
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In fact, the Spaniard felt Juventus will be a hard nut to crack in Cardiff on June 3rd, given their tight defence and refused to pick out a winner.
"The challenge will be for Real Madrid to be the first team to win it two years in a row. The match will be difficult. Juventus is a very strong team and is not just a typical Italian team with a strong defence.
"They have three very good forwards in Dybala, who has played really well. Also Higuain, a player I signed for Real Madrid, and Mandzukic. They have a very, very strong team. Their goalkeeper Buffon is one of the best in the world. So the result is unpredictable."
Calderon also had words of praise for Zinedine Zidane's utilisation of Cristiano Ronaldo that has seen the Portuguese forward rack up the goals while doting upon the fact that he laid the groundwork for the deal that brought Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009.
Incidentally, Ramon Calderon resigned in January 2009 before the deal was brought to fruition and current President Florentino Perez completed the transfer.
"He will always be one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or. He has proven to be a fantastic player. He is scoring lot of goals and is now playing inside the box. I think it’s a wise decision from Zidane who decided to put him in the box. Let’s hope that he can help us win another title. I hope he will finish his career in Spain.
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"It was difficult for me to sign him in 2008 with Manchester United not letting him go. We had an agreement to buy him the next season for 80 million pounds. I could say I was the one who signed Ronaldo for Real Madrid. We, as presidents, are there at the moment and have to take advantage of the opportunity."
Calderon also thinks that it is hard to pry away promising talents from English clubs anymore because of the huge amounts of money they are generating from TV revenue.
"The TV rights allow the English clubs to make a huge amount of money, almost four times the money made in La Liga. So they are not going to selling clubs. If someone wants to buy a player from them, they will have to pay a lot of money. First, it was Cristiano for £80m and then was (Gareth) Bale for £100m and now (Paul) Pogba."
The Spaniard, who had signed Arjen Robben and Gonzalo Higuain for Real Madrid, revealed that his vision was to see Robben, Higuain and Ronaldo as the front three which sadly did not bear fruit.
"He was a fantastic player and hence, we signed him at the age of 19. Nobody thought that he would be so good back then. He helped us win two La Liga titles in a row. It was a pity to sell him. We thought Higuain, alongside Ronaldo and Robben would have been the three forwards but I’m very happy that he is successful in Italy," he concluded.