Cristiano Ronaldo '100%' fit for El Clasico as Zidane explains Real Madrid plans to beat Barcelona

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo will be "100%" fit to face Barcelona on Saturday [23 December] with manager Zinedine Zidane expecting to have a near fully fit squad for the first El Clasico of the La Liga season.

Ronaldo's availability for the crucial visit of Ernesto Valverde's side came under question earlier in the week after the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was unable to train with the rest of his teammates on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday [19, 20 and 21 December].

The Portugal international scored Real's winner during the 1-0 victory over Gremio in the final of the Fifa Club World Cup but reports in Spain have since claimed that the Real ace ended that game with some discomfort in his hamstring.

But Ronaldo returned to full training on Friday [22 December] and Zidane confirmed that the star will be ready to lead Real's attack when Barcelona visit the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend.

"He's okay. He's 100%. He's trained today and what interests me is this," Zidane said in the press conference before refusing to be drawn in reports claiming that the Portuguese is seeking a pay rise.

"I'm not going to go in to things that aren't football related. For what he has done and what Cristiano Ronaldo is to this club he deserves all the respect from the club and he has it. After the holidays we'll talk about that but the important thing is tomorrow's game."

Gareth Bale is also available after the Welshman played a handful of minutes in the semi-final and the final of the Club World Cup, scoring the winner in the 2-1 victory over Al Jazira.

However, Zidane refused to confirm whether Bale will start against Barcelona given the fitness record of the former Tottenham Hotspur star.

"I always trust my players and communication is the most important thing. I'll not choose a player because I want him to play in a Clásico," the Real boss when asked if Bale could start ahead of Isco on Saturday. "I trust my players and they can get injured, but the important thing is that I think he is 100% to play. We'll see if he plays or not tomorrow."

Whoever plays Real cannot afford a defeat if they want to keep alive their realistic hopes of retaining their La Liga title with Los Blancos are currently 11 points behind Barcelona in the table.

However, they have still one game in hand and Zidane doesn't believe that the game will be decisive in the race for the title.

"If we don't play well with the ball we will have problems. We have to not think about the difference in points. I don't think it's a decisive match in terms of the league. You have to think positively. We're very good and better in each area of ​​the field. Even if we lose, the league will not be over. Every match will be a final and we'll try to reduce the points difference but always staying calm and playing good football. Whatever happens tomorrow we'll continue working and knowing that it's a very long season," the boss said.

"The feelings in the group are good and we're looking forward to this game. We're ready to put in a great performance. The good thing is that we're prepared for this type of game. I like playing good football and that's what we're going to try to do. We're only thinking about putting in a good performance against a very good opposition".