Sergio Ramos hopes to start for Sevilla against Barcelona on Friday.

The veteran defender has been used sparingly so far by coach Jose Luis Mendilibar.

But he says: "I don't feel bad at all, quite the opposite, but when you come back from a vacation, no matter how much you train, you require that process of picking up minutes, rhythm and speed as the games go by.

"But I am fine, in training, group dynamics and accumulating minutes and games.

“It has been a busy summer for the club, with players leaving and arriving. You need to consolidate a group and start setting objectives with the group already closed. Right upon my arrival, taking advantage of those two weeks to work as a group, everything was consolidated to achieve good results.

"This dynamic is starting to be good and we are going to try to maintain it. The season is very long and we are going to have fun for sure."

On Barcelona, the former Real Madrid captain added: “These types of rivals are a plus, no matter how much we don't want them to. They are favourites for everything, in LaLiga and in the Champions League, and that makes a victory against them have that emotional bonus.

"We are going to try to go there for all of Barcelona, even if it is another stadium, but it is the same players. They have verticality, they are fast on the wing and it is going to be a nice game."