Juande Ramos: Real Madrid Couldn't Compete With Barcelona

Juande Ramos has acknowledged that Real Madrid could not compete with Barcelona in La Primera this season.

The capital side currently trail the league leaders by eight points and just a draw this weekend would see the Catalans take the title from Madrid.

Ramos declared himself "happy and proud" of his time with los Blancos, but told the press that Madrid couldn't topple Barcelona.

"We could not compete with Barcelona. Our performance has been very high and with the results that we have obtained, we could be champions, but for Barca," he explained.

"They play excellent football, but these are the patches in football. Players like Xavi, Puyol and Iniesta combine to the highest level."

Certainly Ramos has managed to turn Madrid around in his time in charge, but perhaps not enough to see him stay beyond this summer.

He admits that his contract is only for six months, and that already there is plenty of talk of possible replacements after the elections.

"It was clear that my contract was for six months and if nobody gets in touch with me before June 30, it will be clear that my time here is over," he mused.

"I knew where I stood and what was required of me. I only wanted the next president to count on me if he trusted in my work. I understand that each [presidential] candidate is talking about a different coach."

"The rumors have already started and they are mainly talking about foreigners, but Luis Aragones for example, is as good as any of them. He has won the European Championship and has then left to coach [Galatasaray]. Others, like [Rafa] Benitez or myself, we have also had experience abroad."

Despite almost acknowledging that he will be leaving this summer, Ramos did say that he has at least achieved his objectives.

"When I arrived, the objective was to qualify for the Champions League and we have done that with several games to spare. In fact, there are three matches left and still Barcelona have not won the league," he joked.

Finally, Ramos reflected on the official announcement by Florentino Perez today that he would be running for Real Madrid presidency.

"The fans are delighted because in his last reign many titles were won. There are still candidates going through the electoral process so one has to be patient, but he has one of the best track records in recent years," he said.