I would not normally write a Match Preview on any game not involving my beloved Clarets but I do so on this occasion without apology because of the issues involved. This is a Champions League Semi-Final First Leg which both teams have earned the right to play in by beating Liverpool and Porto respectively in their Quarter Finals. The “Galacticos” have one of the finest midfields in Europe with Casemiro lining up alongside Toni Kroos and Luka Modric but off the pitch Real Madrid along with their Catalan arch rivals Barcelona are burdened with huge debts. Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez proposed setting up a new European Super League where a select group of clubs would play each other not by right of competition but by exclusive membership. Whilst the English clubs who signed up to this rebel League quickly realised the error of their ways Pérez has continued to maintain that this hideous scheme was designed to save football itself. Most fans have realised that in truth the ESL was all about saving Real Madrid and a few others from the huge financial hole they have dug themselves into. Instead of tearing up football’s tried and tested and fair structures Real Madrid need to learn to live within their means. In essence they want to bleed football dry to save their own skins. I do not know if Perez intends to attend the second leg at Stamford Bridge on May 5th but should he do so he should be left in no doubt about his culpability. That condemnation must also extend to Zinedine Zidane who, to his utter shame, has refused to come out against the ESL.