Buffon labels Madrid fans 'ingrates' over 'outrageous' Casillas boos

Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon has labelled Real Madrid fans "ingrates" for their "outrageous" booing of goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

The Spain skipper has spent his entire professional career at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning three Champions Leagues trophies and La Liga five times amongst a host of other honours.

However, a slump in form over the last couple of years has seen him become the target of jeers from the stands but Buffon has leapt to his defence.

"There are certain iconic figures who don't deserve this attitude," he said at a press conference.

"It is an unpleasant and outrageous thing for a professional like him, who has always given his all. The protest against him is an unprecedented gesture from ingrates.

"For 20 years he has given so much for the Real Madrid shirt. Regardless of whether things are going well or not, there are icons who don't deserve this kind of treatment."

Juventus travel to Madrid on Wednesday with a 2-1 lead from the first leg of their Champions League semi-final  in Turin last week but Buffon says their job is only half done.

"We have gone beyond our expectations. We are 90 minutes from the final," he continued.

"I'm more mature now than when I was playing in the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin but it's still too early to dream about going through to Berlin."

Bring on Real Madrid - Pique

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is hoping his side face arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Champions League final for the first time in history.

The Catalans reached the Berlin showpiece on Tuesday with a 5-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich, while Carlo Ancelotti's side trail Juventus 2-1 ahead on Wednesday's second leg at the Bernabeu.

Barca remain in the hunt for a second treble triumph but the former Manchester United man is taking nothing for granted as they hope to seal La Liga on Sunday, should their game against Atletico Madrid not be postponed due to the upcoming strike.

"It would be very exciting to be the first to play a Champions League final against your closest rivals," he is quoted as saying by AS.

"It would be something historic. The treble would be the most beautiful. But we know that everything can change in a moment.

"We'll see if we have to play this weekend against Atletico Madrid due to the strike. Everything looks very good but we need to finish well.

"We've done everything right but we must close out the titles."

Should the Liga strike be called off, Barcelona will face Atletico at 19:00CET at the Vicente Calderon.

Messi: Barcelona must win the Champions League

Barcelona star Lionel Messi says the club must now go on and win the Champions League after reaching the final on Tuesday.

Luis Enrique's side lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich but progressed thanks to their 3-0 first-leg win at Camp Nou last week, in which the Argentine scored twice.

The 27-year-old has won the competition three times in his career but is determined to add a fourth medal to his collection.

"We're happy as we wanted to reach the Champions League final," he wrote on his Facebook page.

"But our objective is still the same: to win it."

I would lose buzz as Liverpool sub, admits Gerrard

Steven Gerrard has revealed he is leaving Liverpool for LA Galaxy to avoid losing the buzz of playing regular football as he prepares to make his final Anfield appearance.

The 34-year-old announced in January that he would be ending his 17-year professional association with his boyhood club at the end of the season, and shortly afterwards agreed to join the MLS champions.

And as he prepares to play his final home game against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Gerrard admits his decision to leave was motivated by an unwillingness to become a fringe player.

"I'm going to come on as a sub and the buzz changes," Gerrard told reporters.

"For me, I go to work on a Monday morning and I look forward to Saturday, to prepare to go to battle with some wonderful people - with good mates – and that's my buzz.

"When a manager gets you into the office and says that's going to change and it's going to become more limited - that's when you make your decision.

"It's not a selfish thing; coming on as a sub's just not the same buzz so things have changed this year."

Gerrard admits it will be difficult to contain his emotions on Saturday and hopes he can mark his final Anfield appearance with a win.

"I'm going to get the attention at the weekend, it's not something I really like, but hopefully I can put in a good performance for the supporters so we can get a win and I can enjoy the send-off that I'm going to get," he added.

"It's going to be a difficult day but I'm going to try and enjoy it. It'll be strange, I'm sure it will. It'll be an emotional day for me and my family and friends that have followed me throughout my career.

"And also for a lot of supporters that have watched me for many, many years, not just at the stadium but around the world as well.

"Everyone's talking about it but for me I just want to stay focused on the remaining games and the training and sessions ahead.

"There's plenty of time to be sentimental and emotional after the games are done but I don't really want to listen to supporters being emotional face to face because I'm a little bit afraid of breaking down and showing too much!"