La Liga president says "I am a Real Madrid fan"

La Liga president Javier Tebas has risked causing consternation in Clasico week by admitting he is a Real Madrid supporter.

The 53-year-old, who has led the LFP since April 2013, confessed he has followed the club since childhood.

Tebas was born in Costa Rica but revealed his support for the club in order to avoid being called a hypocrite if the fact came out from elsewhere.

"If I say I don't support [Madrid], then that would be hypocritical and I would be painted as a liar," he said in an interview with AS.

"And I certainly don't like to be called a liar. Imagine if I said that I loved all teams, and then it came out that I supported Madrid since I was a boy, went to 27 Clasicos in the past, that I celebrated Madrid wins with friends in a bar. I prefer to call it as it is."

Tebas has previously voiced his desire for domestic fixtures to be played abroad, and while he reaffirmed that desire he insisted El Clasico will never take place on foreign shores.

"El Clasico will never be played outside of Spain. It's a key game in our league competition and has huge international prestige.

"We'll study the possibility of playing certain games outside of Spain but at present this initiative doesn't form part of our international expansion plans."