00:00 How did Mauricio support you in Athens as a brother when you got to PSG?
00:04 I don't know. I went from playing in League One to Champions League a week later in Milan.
00:10 I was all over the place. I didn't know. I could not speak the language. It was my first
00:15 professional club and I needed someone to be close to me, give me confidence, give me
00:20 support because I was thrown away there and said, 'Yeah, play.' And it was in the starting
00:24 year. So he was always giving me advice, giving me confidence, coaching me, talking to me.
00:32 He was really, really inspirational. He was really supportive. I was in the hotel with
00:36 him for two or three months. So that period was key in my career to be able to make it.
00:43 I don't think without him that I wouldn't have the time that I had in Paris and then
00:47 start my professional career.
00:48 Do you have any specific memories or recollections of that time? What he said to you, what he did?
00:55 He's an expert of giving you confidence and then keeping you on your toes all the time
01:00 and being really harsh on me. Every time I was doing something, just controlling me,
01:05 you know, 'Where you been last night?' He really looked after me.
01:09 Is it going to be quite strange being competed against him?
01:13 I think it's beautiful. It's something that will happen with Pep. I think it's great that
01:17 after those years that football puts you in this situation where you face each other and
01:24 now we are both managing great clubs and in the best league in the world. It doesn't get
01:29 much better than that.
01:30 Has that relationship ever flipped? Have you ever given him advice since you're also a manager now?
01:38 No. The only one is to give me the ball. When I was there, give me more of the ball.
01:45 You're speaking really well about that because you still look up to him a little bit. Is that
01:50 how things are with you?
01:52 Yes. I'm so grateful for what he did for me and the way he guided me in those early years.
02:00 He got something else out of me that was needed in that period to make it a dire state for me
02:05 in my football career, whether it was as a player or as a coach.
02:09 What happens on game day? Does it all change?
02:12 No. Go for him. He's going to do the same. We are both winners and there is nothing else left there
02:18 in 90 minutes.
02:19 How do you view the Mujic signing? You tried to sign him in January, he went to Chelsea.
02:26 How do you view that? Disappointment, frustration?
02:30 Nothing. I can talk only about the players that played for us and nothing else.
02:36 Did you see Zinchenko's message to him after he scored that goal for Ukraine?
02:40 Sorry?
02:40 Did you see his message? That he was going to rip his balls off?
02:43 I'll leave that to Alex to reply to that comment.
02:50 Where has he surpassed expectations about the things he's done on the pitch?
03:06 Well, I don't know. We had big expectations for him. He's doing really, really well. Obviously,
03:12 there is that question of how long he's going to take to do that, to glide into the team,
03:15 to understand. Especially in big games, I think he's been terrific and that's what you need from
03:21 your big players. So, a big compliment to him because he's done it very early and in a really
03:27 natural way as well.
03:28 You said when he signed you wanted him to be a lighthouse. Has he been like that?
03:34 Can you give an example of how he's been to justify that?
03:38 He's got big qualities that he makes the people around him better. He makes the team better.
03:42 He's always there. He's a big person. He's got his aura around him.
03:46 When you play for a big club, you need a player in midfield that is able to do that.
03:51 Did you sign him specifically for the big games? When you look at the City-United game,
03:56 you had those big moments. The City as a tackle and the United as the goal.
04:01 Was it specifically for those big games that you saw why you wanted him?
04:06 Well, those players are very necessary in big games because you need big performances and
04:11 players that can't unlock a game or can't contribute in key moments. But obviously,
04:16 we need him for every game to continue to develop our way of playing and be better.
04:25 How is he going into the next game?
04:42 He'll continue to do. The last touch of the game that he had and the contribution he had
04:45 against City was terrific. It was difficult to make the decision not to play him. But
04:51 as well, we knew that the last 25-30 minutes against City were going to be critical and the
04:56 impact that the softball had was detrimental for the result. I'm really happy the way he reacted
05:03 and contributed to the team.
05:04 Will he be able to do that for a big moment for United?
05:07 I hope so. I hope so. I can see that the confidence is shifting and he's in a much
05:13 better place. We have to continue to do that and he needs to play.
05:16 Okay, thanks everyone. Thank you.
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