Baghdad Bounedjah is the 2018 Algerian Player of the Year. He is also a team mate of Xavi Hernández and Gabi Fernández at Qatari club Al Sadd, where he arrived in 2015.

The Algerian striker has played with Xavi for the past three years and with Gabi for last six months, during which time the ex-Barcelona and ex-Atletico players have spoken to their Al Sadd team-mates about the intense rivalries that exist between Real Madrid and their respective former clubs.

The nature of those conversations had remained unknown outside the Al Sadd dressing room until now, with Bounedjah revealing in an interview the feelings of Xavi and Gabi towards Real Madrid.

“Neither of them like Real Madrid,” said the Bounedjah. “Xavi told me that in Cataluña they are taught to hate Real Madrid and grow up with those feelings.”

Bounedjah: world's top scorer in 2018

Both Xavi and Gabi helped their Algerian team mate to earn the title of the world's top goal-scorer in 2018 with 58 goals, significantly more than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mo Salah, to name a few. Thirteen of those goals came in the Asian Champions League, which helped Al Sadd to reach the semi-finals of the competition last year.

After having been linked with moves to Leicester City and Leeds United, Bounedjah finally decided to renew his contract with Al Sadd in December, which will see him remain at the Qatari club until 2024.