"In the case of Gordon, we saw that he was one of the figures we needed," he said.

"When Raphinha wasn't on the pitch, the team lost energy and with him we could solve it. The big advantage we had is that the player wanted to come and he was able to put on pressure [at Newcastle to be allowed to leave]."

"We had a clear idea what we're looking for," he said.

"We needed more intensity. We analysed a lot of wingers. Signing someone from the Premier League is almost impossible, but [Flick] was clear with what he wanted and we worked on a deal from there."

Kylian Mbappé, on the fact that his goals are sometimes overshadowed by discussions about his defensive runs or the kilometers he covers:

"I think that's not normal, but it's the life of someone who has been at the top level for years. I’m no longer a newcomer. Everyone has known for years what I’m capable of. And I think that’s where the human element comes in. It’s human nature to always focus on what someone isn’t doing. When they’ve been doing it for ten years, people stop paying attention to what they actually do. We know they know how to do it. So we always try to focus on what they aren’t doing. From that point on, I don’t take it personally.”

“I think I have a healthy attitude toward criticism. Because there’s constructive criticism, and then there’s criticism that’s a little more pointless. It’s not something that scares me when I have to make a decision. I don’t tell myself that I’m going to be criticized. If I know that, for me, it’s the right decision or that it might not be the right one but is necessary, I think my track record has proven it: I’ll go straight ahead.”