00:03Coming up against the Southampton side tomorrow that haven't lost since January,
00:07they've got that winning feeling. It's not going to be straightforward tie for you, is it?
00:12Yeah, and I think he's been beaten.
00:14Able to knock out Fulham and Arsenal so speak for itself.
00:19So, good rhythm.
00:21Yeah, great opportunity to get the final.
00:26For the club, it's the eighth straight semi-final, a chance for a fourth consecutive final,
00:30which has never been done before.
00:32When you do eventually leave this club, how proud, how much will it mean to you seeing your name
00:38alongside all of these records in English football?
00:40No, leaving day by day. No, it's not.
00:43Records are numbers. It means how good, how fine we have been, who we are and will be.
00:50So, that is the point.
00:51So, no, I wouldn't wake up in the morning and think, you know, like,
00:57we won what you won, make me that day happy.
01:00No, it's what happened.
01:02And now the opportunity to play semi-final Wembley again
01:05and try in a few weeks to reach the final.
01:09Hi Pep. In the position you're in, you've already won silverware this season.
01:12You're top of the Premier League and in a semi-final.
01:14How excited are you about the players and the way the team is playing at this moment?
01:20Yeah, they are happy. The guys that don't play much, not as much happy.
01:25That must be.
01:26And now just focus on the game tomorrow, what you have to do with the selection for the, you know,
01:33for the spirit,
01:34how it is, how to recover the players for the last two incredible demanding games.
01:38And, yeah. So, semi-final is tough.
01:42Having managed so many games at Wembley, both with Manchester City and previous,
01:47do you have maybe one game or one moment that stands out in your mind as your favourite?
01:53Yeah, I know it too. Win the first Champions League with Barcelona.
01:56It was so important. Really, really important.
02:00And, of course, the Champions against United as well.
02:05And, yeah, all the – I've been nice. Good moments, bad moments.
02:10The FA Cup against United as well to the chance – give it a chance to win the travel before
02:15the final.
02:17And Istanbul always was good.
02:20Hi, Pep. Can I check on Rodri, please? How is he?
02:22He's better.
02:24Is he likely to play tomorrow?
02:26No. We don't want to take risk.
02:29Is he likely to be back before the Everton game?
02:32I don't know yet, hopefully, but we don't want to take risk because if he's injured,
02:37we'll lose in the next five games and Rodri is so important.
02:41And there have been more reports since we've got John Stones and his future.
02:44Is this an opportunity for him to play tomorrow?
02:46Perhaps he's coming to the end of his time.
02:48Depends on the manager. That's for sure.
02:51And can the manager give us a clue?
02:53Yeah, definitely. I'll call you later.
03:00Pep, you spoke a lot, obviously, about understandably taking each game as it comes despite the bigger picture.
03:07Is it almost easier to give that message to the group now because every game is so important
03:11than perhaps it has been at previous times in the season when the bigger picture felt like there was a
03:16lot more going on.
03:17Now it's just very focused. The next game is the most important.
03:20It was not the first time we leave that. Of course, you have that game tomorrow.
03:24You have to have eight days until next Monday.
03:27So you have time to day off, recover and make the last rush, the last run, the last sprint in
03:33five games,
03:34potential six depending tomorrow.
03:37And yeah, I'm pretty sure everybody will be involved. Yeah. Otherwise, they will not be clear.
03:46Yeah. How are you approaching the game tomorrow?
03:48Because obviously you're playing against a team from the division below,
03:52but it's an FA Cup semi-final competition you've taken very seriously.
03:55You've had quite a settled team selection in recent weeks, but obviously you've only played a few days ago.
04:00I mean, how are you balancing the kind of the minutes in the legs that are already there
04:03versus the importance of this occasion?
04:05Yeah, of course, it's the opening part of the question mark, the way you had to play.
04:10But of course, it was so demanding the game against Arsenal emotionally.
04:16It's normal that games and after three days later and three days later now, you know, today, second day,
04:21the people were so, so tired and now take a train for hours, you know, from here to the hotel.
04:29And always is Wembley. Tomorrow will be a fantastic day. Always a great stick.
04:37So many, many thoughts still I am in my mind and we'll see tomorrow.
04:46Hi, Pep. How difficult a selection is it tomorrow?
04:50Because you've got such a long gap after this until the Everton game.
04:55In terms of like, could you lose momentum if you change too many players?
04:59How difficult a selection is it?
05:00No, it's easier for the fact they have a lot except Ruben, Rodri and Josco, the rest are fit.
05:07But of course, you think, OK, it's the last effort, you know, and I have to have eight days.
05:11That's not the question. The question is you will be ready for tomorrow playing 95 or maybe extra time.
05:17With a lot of players that have a lot of a lot of men in their legs.
05:20That is the question. So, and yeah, tonight in the train with my staff, we'll have to finish to discuss.
05:27Hi, Pep. The club have announced that they're freezing season ticket prices for next season.
05:31What's your reaction to that? Does it show the importance of the fan engagement and how they fought for this?
05:35Heads off. For my chairman, for my CEO. This business, it doesn't work without the fans.
05:43Imagine play how it was in the COVID time around there and we don't have people in our stadium.
05:53So I'm pretty sure that, of course, the club needs financially have enough resources to buy the best players as
06:01possible to continue to pay the players.
06:05And, of course, it's necessary. But when the club think, OK, we can find it for the other way.
06:12And in this situation, the world is difficult and no increased season tickets means a lot.
06:18Again, how special is this club? So how good it is?
06:23So hopefully, you know, tomorrow they come back and especially at the end of the season,
06:28the last two, three games at home, let's see what we have. They can be there.
06:33So this move comes in a time when other clubs are putting up ticket prices and you've...
06:36I didn't judge other clubs.
06:38They are used to, but we didn't judge other clubs. They can do whatever they want.
06:42And there's been a lot of discussion about the World Cup tickets and really expensive tickets and like $90 trains.
06:48What's your kind of opinion on that?
06:52Before I remember, you know, the World Cup years, years, years ago, the World Cup was like a celebration of
06:57the joy of football for the nations to go there.
07:00And everyone traveled all around the globe, you know, from other continents to see your country, to play there.
07:06And everyone was affordable.
07:10No, modern times, right?
07:12So, so expensive, but I'm not, you know, I'm not there, so I don't know the reason why.
07:21Hopefully, they can think about it and make football for the fans.
07:26So, of course, you have to think about sponsors.
07:29You have to think about all this kind of stuff because otherwise, we'll be not sustainable.
07:33Everybody knows it.
07:35But, so, fans are the key.
07:38The key for this business can go on.
07:44Do you have a decision to make on your goalkeeper tomorrow?
07:53James.
07:54It will be, yeah.
07:54Yeah.
07:55I mean, how impressed have you been, his response to, like, he's not obvious.
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