How do you evaluate being an important player in the national team again?
Very happy. It’s always flattering to come because it represents your country, it’s reward for good work and you have to approach two games (Scotland and Norway) as two finals to document classification as quickly as possible.
In football, no one gives anything to anyone, but in your case, the impression is given that something has to be won, do you have this impression?
I like it because it means constant work and discipline pay off. Football is very complex, there is a lot of pressure. You are in the spotlight every day, you have to be prepared and as I said, discipline and daily work pays off.
How is this pressure managed?
Ever since you grew up, football players have been coming to the fore and you have to prepare yourself. That’s why I’m a fan of hiring professionals. Because it’s getting harder. There are more games every three days. After all, you need to surround yourself with professional people to work in all aspects and reach the best level, both physically and mentally.
Are you working with a coach?
I had to live with very difficult conditions, a lot of criticism, a lot of pressure in the football world. That’s why I decided to leave myself in the hands of a professional. It made me radically change my perspective on things. José Angel Caperán is my psychologist and he is also the person who puts more pressure on me than anyone else. He squeezed me like I’ve never been bored before. This was the key to my change.
“I focus a lot on visualization like Ilia Topuria”
How do you see football now after this change?
Football has always been the same sport for me, but I look at it differently. I visualize a lot, for example Ilia Topuria (martial arts fighter) going to Hormiguero and I think he focuses a lot on visualization. I started this a while ago and above all I started working daily, having faith, believing in myself and not depending on anyone. If you get caught up in what is being said about you, you can get caught up in the dynamic of not being on your level.
So, what kind of vision did you have for football before this change?
The same. As I said, football is my life, my passion, it will always be that way because it gave me everything. It is true that when things are not going so well, you perceive it differently, you have less desire for certain things, but thanks to the way I work and face it. I know how to cope when things go wrong and when they go well.
Do you like playing more as a central striker or at least inside?
I enjoy playing in every position. The more versatile you are, the more options you have to play and that’s a good thing for me and the team.
“I am competing with Lewandowski to score more goals than him in training.”
From the outside, it gives the impression that you are calmer about finishing now, that you were more hasty about finishing last season. Do you evaluate it the same way?
I really disagree. More than last year? Maybe he didn’t handle things the way he does now, but if you look at his years at Manchester City he had a better definition. These are lines and I managed to reverse it. There will be bad matches, but this does not mean that you will enter into a bad dynamic. You have to know how to analyze things, analyze mistakes and not make them again.
Is Lewandowski a reference for you as a centre-forward?
Yes, I pay a lot of attention to it. Most of the time I try to compete with myself in training scoring more goals than him or trying to compete with him. This helped me a lot.
Xavi said you were an example.
Things are very complicated in a club like Barcelona. You have to win every match and on top of that you have to play well. Most of the time you can’t get everything. Discipline is essential to me because it prevents you from straying from the path and results come.
“I have the capacity to be successful at Barça”
He had to gain their trust in the summer and although there was a lot of talk about offers, he managed to do it…
I think they let me out more in the summer than I actually went out. I don’t want to say who it is, but I’m sure I want to be successful at Barça. It is a very important club for me because it gave me confidence from day one and I have the capacity to be successful here.
They say about you that you do very important work inside the stand that is not visible outside.
If there’s one thing that’s on my mind a lot, I like to get involved when it’s up to me. If I can help my teammates, my coach or the staff, I do it because I am a good person and I want to do my best. This is a very important thing.
With the departure of Busquets and Alba, Sergi Roberto remained as captain. How do you evaluate his work as the head of the dressing room?
For me, Sergi Roberto is an example. Someone who knows the house very well. He’s been here all his life and knows how to take the reins of the team and give warning when necessary.
“Shark is a little bit of everything”
Let’s talk about the star theme, can you explain to us what the shark you identify with is?
Shark is a little bit of everything, even though everyone says it’s the new Ferran, this is the mentality I’ve always had, and it’s now paid off as it’s reflected on the field. A very important thing is invisible education. People only see Ferran on the field for 90 minutes. Nobody knows what’s behind us; training hours, training hours with trainers, psychologists’ hours, rest hours, meal times. Being Ferran is based on my discipline, mentality, competitiveness and my desire to always be the best.
How did the nickname come about?
This incident, which started as a joke at the table with the Spanish team before the season, spread to social networks and remained. It’s a nickname I really like.
Children are especially pleased with this shark.
I want to be an example to them more than a shark. Show them that even if things don’t go your way, you face a lot of criticism, or no one trusts you, you still have to take it to the positive side that motivates you. Nowadays, when they distrust me or criticize me, I look at the bright side and have more motivation to shut up and turn the situation around. I want to be an example to children.
Will they be able to sing the famous song ‘don’t stop, keep going, keep going…’?
No… this is not believed either. I’m not very aware of this.
“Being in your head is everything”
What does celebrating by putting your fingers to your head, similar to a military salute, mean?
First of all, mental health. I think being in a good mood is everything, when you are good things go better and you face them in the best way possible.
How do you observe the development of Lamine Yamal, who stopped concentrating, and how is such an atypical case managed due to his extreme youth?
This is a very atypical situation. He just turned 16. Since he’s already a starter, what he’s doing is great. He will do great things at Barça. You need to deal with it because these are unusual situations where things come very quickly and you need to know how to handle it.
You are in your third season at Barça, do you think this is the season in which they have the best squad and can compete for everything, including the Champions League?
We have a competitive team. You have two or three players who can start perfectly in every position and that is one of the foundations for the team to do great things this season, regardless of the result the other day (2-2 at Granada).
“Classic? I always want to bite it”
We are already close to a classic, would it be a disadvantage to play in Montjuïc on October 28?
No. The most important thing is to look at it match by match. There is one more League and Champions League match before the Classic, we have to look at it match by match, that’s all.
You’ve already scored against Madrid, does the shark have a particular bite desire that day?
I want to bite in every match, the opponent does not matter.