Spain will be a united team in Russia: Villa

Veteran confident Barca, Real players can put aside club rivalry to win a second World Cup

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At club level, they cannot stand the sight of each other, and most certainly dread it when the other team earn any sort of bragging rights.

This was probably why Barcelona declined to provide a guard of honour for Real Madrid, who had won the Club World Cup in December, and Real "returned the favour" this month by denying LaLiga champions Barca the "pasillo".

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 21, 2018, with the headline Spain will be a united team in Russia: Villa. Subscribe