Barcelona VP gives his take on UCL draw vs PSG, praises teenage wonderkid

Barcelona Vice President Rafa Yuste has revealed that the Blaugrana did not want to draw against Manchester City nor did the Cityzens want that due to the emotional connection between the two teams.

During the recent UEFA Champions League quarter-final draws, Barcelona were drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, a team that has an exciting history against the team from Catalonia in the competition.

Although times have changed and PSG are one of the contenders to win the continental championship, Yuste emphasized the significance of the fixture by asserting Barcelona’s position among the elite teams across the continent.

“We have Lamine Yamal, a huge squad and a coach who has faith. It’s going to be a very nice tie, They have a great coach,” he said in reference to Luis Enrique (former Barcelona manager) as quoted by SPORT.

Did not want Manchester City

Yuste went on to mention that both Barcelona and Manchester City, who are drawn against Real Madrid, did not want to play each other in the competition due to the history they have.

“We did not want Manchester City, and neither did they want us. We have been talking about it with Txiki (Begiristain, the technical secretary of the English club) because of an emotional issue,” he said.

Pep Guardiola won a lot at Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

It is to be noted that apart from Txiki, Pep Guardiola’s past with Barcelona is of greater significance. Moreover, even players like Ferran Torres, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo would have felt some emotional burden while facing City.

Meanwhile, Yuste called for Barcelona to put up a great show against PSG exactly as they did against Napoli in the round of 16.

“You have to have respect for all your rivals because these are the eight best teams in Europe; we have to follow the path of the day against Naples.”

Lastly, he also had some words reserved for a certain Pau Cubarsi who has been selected to play for the Spanish national team. Speaking about him, the vice president said:

“I’m very happy for him. He has an incredible level, but without Xavi’s bravery, he wouldn’t have made his debut. La Masia does an exceptional job.”