Zidane: Ronaldo will not play in El Clasico Miami

La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona square off Saturday in Miami for a pre-season El Clasico, and according to Zinedine Zidane, Los Blancos star Cristiano Ronaldo will not take part.

Zidane confirmed during Friday's presser what International Champions Cup organiser Charlie Stillitano told the Miami Herald hours earlier.

Relevent Sports chairman Stillitano announced Ronaldo's absence, saying "Unfortunately, Ronaldo's personal commitments precluded him from being here."

"He really wanted to be here. This is not a diva situation. He was hoping that he could make it. He waited until today to let us know, but it just didn’t work out."

Zidane echoed those sentiments, saying, "Ronaldo is on vacation and he has a right to be on vacation to the 5th."

With the recent arrival of twins and a July 31 court appearance on tax evasion charges looming large, Ronaldo has missed out on Real's United States summer tour.

Stillitano adds that RSE Ventures founder and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross tried to encourage the Euro 2016 winner to join his mates in Florida, though in the end, it wasn't meant to be.

"Mr. Ross did everything possible to get him here," Stillitano admitted. "And Cristiano said he was very grateful for that. I'm extremely disappointed, but we still have the two best teams and the top stars minus one."

Even without Ronaldo, Saturday's tilt at the Hard Rock Stadium will not be short on storylines, as reports linking Barca star Neymar with a record-breaking move to Paris Saint-Germain continue to gain steam.