Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said that the Spanish Super Cup got a big boost with its new system and transferred it to Saudi Arabia as his team prepares to face Atletico Madrid in the final tonight in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Real and Atletico finished last season without any title and would not have qualified for the old system championship between the champions and the King's Cup.
However, the two teams participated in the tournament after changing its system by the Spanish Federation, which will receive 120 million euros over three years in exchange for its stay in Saudi Arabia.
The transfer of the championship to Saudi Arabia caused criticism from the local fans.
Real beat the Spanish King Cup 3-1 in the semi-finals, while Atlético turned his back to a 3-2 victory over Barcelona, the league champion, to pave the way for the sixth confrontation in a final match between the two teams of the capital in the last eight years.
"We have not entered the championship system but the Spanish federation, but I think it was for the better and the value of the championship increased ... We took advantage of that this year because we are guests, but maybe we will come back next year too," Ramos told a news conference.
Atletico defeated the Real in the 2013 King’s Cup, the 2014 European Super Cup and the European Super Cup 2018, while the Real defeated his neighbor in the 2014 and 2016 UEFA Champions League Final.
"(Atletico) is an uncomfortable competitor and he has a great coach and an amazing team. He is struggling until he loses hope completely, but we are ready for that and we will fight with our souls to win the title," Ramos said.
"It is important to maintain our ambition and Real Madrid did this before and we kept our thirst for competition in the final matches. We deserved to play a match against a team that also deserved to be reached, and our goal is to win," he concluded.
Real will be without the top three strikers, as Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema are absent due to illness and injury, while midfielder Koke Muscle will be absent from coach Diego Simeone's team.