““We’re thinking about the squad without them,’ Pep announced during his presentation, flanked by the club president, Joan Laporta, and sporting director, Txiki Beguiristain. ‘That’s the way I think after analysing questions of performance in the time they have been with the team, and also less tangible questions. It is for the good of the team. ‘If they stay in the end, I will give everything so that they join us at the right level.’ It was a revelation. Pep’s common-sense approach, his communication skills and the feeling of authenticity you got from his talks,””
