Thursday, 21st November, 2013
Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has insisted his club will not be making a move for out-of-favour Iker Casillas any time soon, adding the goalkeeper's status with Real Madrid must be respected.
The defending La Liga champions have had their defensive plans thrown into disarray after their number one Victor Valdes was recently hit by injury.
But despite the being club in dire need of a reliable shot-stopper, Zubizarreta has maintained his side are "not tempted" to make a drastic move for Casillas.
"Iker Casillas is a symbol of Real Madrid and he deserves our respect", the Barcelona official said in an interview with Spain's Cadena Cope.
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"Real Madrid surely know what Casillas means for them. No, I did not have the temptation to make a move for Casillas", Zubizarreta added.
No switch between the two clubs was more notorious as that of Luis Figo, who made his move from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000. When he eventually returned to the Camp Nou in a league match in 2002, he did not have the warmest of welcomes, getting thrown a pig's head.
Casillas has already gone on record insisting he is keen to stick to his contract with Real Madrid, which expires in 2017.
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