Xavi: “Van Gaal is undervalued in Barcelona”

What do you ask of the team?: “Many things. It’s a final, we can’t fail, we’d be out and for us the competition is important. We have to go out with more intensity than in the first leg, we didn’t play the necessary match, I didn’t like the first half. We have to go out aggressive and defensively strong. On this stage people cheer a lot, but we have to show that this team can compete in Europe.”

The Torrent plan: “We will find ourselves in a game very similar to the first leg. We need to create spaces, they defend with eleven. We will seek to find solutions to get chances. They had many successes. The goalkeeper Iñaki was extraordinary. It is a final. We are not very excited, we want to get through to quarters”.

Busquets: “At the moment we are thinking about tomorrow, not about the Classic. Anything can happen tomorrow, blows, discomfort… We’ll have time to think about Sunday. Busquets is essential, I’ve already said it. Tactically there will be few players in the world better than Busquets. At least, in our game model. In the team’s gear he is essential. For me, he is a special player”.

The Europa League is valued less: “The main objective is to be in the Champions League next year. If we win the title, we would go to the Champions League and it would solidify the project. We want to show that we can compete in Europe. Even if it is the Europa League, this is a great competition” .

Mbappé and Haaland to Madrid: “They are hypotheses, nothing has happened yet, there is no point in talking about this yet. The club is working in the near future to carry out an important project, the group is more important than individualities, the sense of the group always prevails, of the collective”.

Spotify: “I think it’s very good, it’s a step forward. It’s an important brand, young, modern, it’s music. They’ve worked very well in the marketing area.”

Van Gaal: “He is undervalued in Barcelona. He did a spectacular job, I realize now 25 years later that we worked on many things that now too. I have relied on him in many things, I remember a lot of his advice and his exercises. He was very obsessive. He’s an example of what a modern coach should be. In his case, the way he trains hasn’t changed much compared to now, with others it has.”