Kaka is adamant that Real Madrid is better than Barcelona, and has declared that the reigning La Liga champions are “in trouble”.

Barca drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao over the weekend, giving Real the opportunity to rise to first place in the Spanish top flight table, courtesy of a 1-0 win over Racing Santander.

The two bitter rivals will clash next weekend in El Clasico, and Los Blancos' playmaking extraordinaire has set his sights on three points at the end of the showdown. 

"Barcelona play better than us because they have played together for a long time and that makes the difference, the understanding between the players needs time," Kaka told Sport.

So Barcelona play better, but we are better. We are leaders."

"I do not think Barcelona are the favourites [in El Clasico], we are first and they are in trouble. It's good to get a point lead and if we win we take a four point lead.

"The league is very long and we have many games but it's always good to be first."