ERNESTO VALVERDE

I never let myself forget that our rivals are waiting for us to slip up and feed their hope of catching us.

When Messi plays the ball, everybody expects many things from him. Sometimes it's too much because we have to let Messi breathe a bit.

All matches have a high difficulty level.

You cannot talk to a player who has a contract. It's not in my code.

Every player has to find their place, their form, and play well.

There is something fundamental about Leo in terms of what he transmits to the supporters and what he transmits to the opposition when he starts to run at you. And I speak from experience.

I would like to have an assortment of words, but what can I say about Leo? He is breaking all the records, and those he will still beat. He makes the public always expect something special from him, and he delivers it.

When you lose is when you learn the most.

I do not think it is very easy to win away from home in the Champions League.

Messi always gets us out of trouble, and we're not going to apologise for having him.

Xavi is one of the best players in the history of football.

We all know how management works. If you don't win things, as has happened before, people start to call for your head.

If you win a game, everyone is happy, and if you lose, everyone is watching you.

Positional play is good for training, but in games, to win matches, you need someone who can go past defenders and take chances.

I never think long or long term.

Sometimes there's too much noise about what's happening, but this is Barcelona - it is a big club. Sometimes people make more of things than they have to. We need to try to close the team away from all that noise outside.

The feeling is that video assistant referees and technology are here to help us, especially for justice in the penalty area.

It is good to win because it boosts you in what you're doing and allows you to start the season in a positive way.

We prioritise everything. We will always fight for the Champions League. Barca will always be like that - we are very excited - but the way to win the Champions League is to win the league.

With big clubs, it's always very demanding.

We all want our players to be perfect and never make errors, but we all do. Even coaches.

Everything is focused on the coach. It's what happens in football.

Everyone has their own opinion. They can state it publicly, or not if they don't like to, but for me, the best players are here at Barcelona, starting with Lionel Messi and followed by everyone else.

I don't like to see any coach get sacked - not Lopetegui, not the Huesca coach, not the Granada coach, and, of course, not the Barca coach.

I know the names of possible signings get fans excited, but it's a very fleeting kind of excitement.