How did you get the opportunity to go to the Al Rayyan academy?
"Well, I had been at Barca for almost seven seasons and I got a call from Albert Valentin, the former technical secretary of the Barca first team... He called me a couple of times to tell me about the project they were planning to carry out here in Qatar.
"I was very happy at Barca. I had already talked about renewing my contract with Barca. It wasn't easy, but he convinced me because he explained to me a project that has been fulfilled. It was very attractive, there was a World Cup in between, and after so many years at Barca, I also wanted an experience abroad, and I decided to come."
I understand that, in terms of budget, facilities and conditions, there is very little to envy from the big European clubs, such as Barcelona...
"Yes, the truth is that, as you well know, the Barca youth academy La Masia has a spectacular sports city, it has some things for training that are not usual or normal in Spain or in Europe. But here in Al-Rayyan, it's all multiplied by five.
"To put it in context, from U13 to U19, which is the youth team, the step before the first team, we have 10 natural grass pitches where there is not even a small hole, everything is spectacular. We have two gyms for the U17 and U19; they have a jacuzzi area, ice for recovery after matches, GPS - in other words, everything you can imagine at a professional level in Europe, we have it here. They have made a good investment and they are going all out."
You don't miss Barca, then, do you?
"Barca is my home, I was very grateful there, I have contact with some friends that I still have who are coaches, even players. This week, for example, I've been talking to Xavi Espart, who recently made his debut in the first team, and I was lucky enough to coach him and spend some great times with him.
"When you talk to them and you see that they are making their way there, you say: 'Wow, I miss him.' I have very nice memories. It's a beautiful miss, because I'm also very well off here, I'm not going to deceive you.
"I left there very well, I have very good memories, I have a very good relationship with the coaches and, for example, with Marc Serra, who is the Barca coordinator, because we have a very good friendship. We usually see each other in the summer, we have lunch, we catch up...
"So, well, I miss them, but I enjoy them in a different way, now watching them on TV and seeing them debut in the first team. It's also very nice."
What are the best memories that you take away from your time at Barca?
"On a sporting level, the luck of being able to win three editions of LaLiga Promises, out of the four we played. The last one was very nice because I knew more or less that I could leave and we also won.
"The very nice tournaments we have won, the leagues, all the leagues. But above all, I take with me the fact that now I can be away from home and I can have contact with the players. A bit of it, the memory and also the fact that these guys have ended up making it. This is a great satisfaction for a coach who knows that his goal is to help the players to get there. So that's, that's very nice, that's a very nice memory.
"And also, the players who haven't stayed at Barca, because in the end, football is very big, I also have a relationship with them. There are some who are abroad playing, some in the first division, in other clubs. At the end of the day, this gives you a bit of satisfaction for the results obtained.
"Obviously I have very nice memories, but also on a personal level, because of those friendships, and above all to see them grow inside and outside the context of Barca."
You have mentioned Xavi Espart, who many see making a place for himself in the first team soon. Did you expect that, and how was his evolution?
"I've already talked about this a lot, because I've spoken to a lot of people, and I don't ever like to put myself in the limelight because in the end it's the player's merit 200%, but with Xavi it's true that, coincidentally, we had a very good feeling, a very good relationship.
"He was a player who played a lot with me because he made us play very well. And he was a boy who understood the game very well; he was very mature for his age. And saw him as a player with a lot of progression... It's true that that year with me in the youth team, he came through, but then, he had a couple or three stages where he didn't stand out like he is standing out now.
"But in the end, the player has arrived because mentally for me he's a beast. And he has adapted to the new position, because he had been playing as a centre midfielder. And yes, he is a player that I saw as a bit different to the rest. For me, he was a step ahead. So, I'm not surprised he made it. He's earned it because he's worked very hard.
In those seasons, he was in the B tier, because in the A tier there was Lamine (Yamal), (Marc) Bernal and company. But he has always been working, he has been adding, and in the end, he has arrived because he had talent and because he has also worked hard to get there and has obviously taken advantage of the opportunity."
In those years when you arrived at La Masia, two children also arrived, a certain Marc Bernal and a certain Lamine Yamal. And I don't know if you expected from the beginning that they were going to have such a brutal emergence...
"The truth is that with Lamine, you can never say, but I had few doubts, because he is one of the most differentiated players I have seen in La Masia in so many years. He was a player who always surprises you, he is different.
"What he's doing now, as a youth player in the first division, imagine doing it with players his age. He's a step ahead. He was a gifted player, and that's what I say: you can never say 100% if they're going to make it, but you can sense it. In Lamine's case, he was an exceptional player, and there are very few of those. Luckily, you can enjoy them, and they are usually falling quite a lot on the Barca side.
"But in the end, he is a boy who has also worked hard since he was a child, and he has taken advantage of his opportunities. And on a competitive leve,l he's very good; on a technical level, he's very good. So, what he's doing now, he's been doing since he was very young.
"And Bernal, a bit more of the same. A player with a lot of presence in midfield. He didn't stand out as much as Lamine, obviously - there's only one - but it's true that he was a very important player, a player who gave very good performances, who competed very well and who was finishing stages and has always been important. He is a player who has always had a very good reputation in the youth system."
Also, perhaps the first to make his debut so young in recent years was Ansu Fati. How do you explain the career he is having, also marked by injuries? What was Ansu like in the youth system?
"With Ansu, it's a bit like with Lamine. I think that before Lamine, we had the same feeling with Ansu. I remember talking to people who have coached him for many years and saying that Ansu was the best, that he was amazing, that he was very good. I remember watching Ansu's games; he always played a year older, and he was outstanding. He scored goals, he was a finisher, and he had talent.
"But in football, a lot of factors have to come together for everything to be perfect, and Ansu has been very unlucky with injuries. I think it has been a big handicap for his career, and it's a pity, because I think he had enough talent to play for Barca, and luck hasn't been with him.
"But now I think he's doing well in Monaco, from what I'm seeing. And he's still very young. Of course, we're talking about the fact that he was making his debut very young at Barca. He's still very young, and let's see how he continues, because I remember that before, as you know, Xavi, (Andres) Iniesta - until they were 26, 27, 28 years old, they didn't start to explode. And then, look at the performance they got to give.
"Let's see how Ansu evolves, but it's one of those cases, as I said before, that you see players who are touched by the wand, like Lamine... Ansu was one of them, he was an out-and-out (top) player from a very young age."
You spoke about Gavi. I also wanted to ask you about him, if he always had that personality and character...
"Yes, Gavi is crazy. I remember from the first day he arrived, he was already something different. He had a spectacular attitude and character.
"There's an anecdote about Gavi that we like a lot; in a tournament against Espanyol, he scored a header, and they hit him in the face, broke his nose, a piece of his tooth, but the guy put it all in to score the goal.
"He scored the goal, he left with the ambulance, they had to operate, and when he came back after a couple of months, we played the final in Burriana - a very, very nice tournament - against Betis, who were his ex-team. And again, there was a cross into the box, and the guy put his head in, with everything, and scored a great goal, and we said that another player after coming back is not going to put his head in like that.
"In the end, he was a kid. Gavi would stick his head in and do whatever it took. I mean, Gavi is a super competitor... (but) it's not just about putting his foot in; Gavi is pure talent, he has a touch of the ball, and he's an out-and-out (top) player.
"With Gavi, something similar happened to what I was saying; when he arrived, we said: 'Wow, he's very good.'
"So let's see how he comes back from injury, but I'm sure he'll be fine because he'll have worked like an animal."
So, do you see him being important, in this season and the following ones, despite these knee injuries?
"Yes, for me, he is a player who can be very important for Barca. In fact, he already has been, when he was much younger, but it is true that now he has a lot of competition; there are some very good players.
"I think this is going to make them all improve even more, because in the end, of course, we're talking about an incredible midfield, with Fermin (Lopez), with Bernal, with (Frenkie) de Jong, with Pedri, and so on. So, I think it's going to help them, that they're all going to grow because in the end they're going to have to fight a lot to, to play minutes.
"But I'm sure that Gavi, the way he is, he's going to make it, he's going to make it, because he's very competitive and very talented and he's still very young. So, I think that, yes, he's a player who also feels the colours and wants to be at Barca, he's very clear about that, and I want to see him play a lot, and I think I'll be able to do that."
You mentioned Fermin Lopez, who also arrived at the club in 2016/17. What was he like when he arrived?
"I didn't bring him in directly, but obviously, we trusted him a lot, and he was a super-sympathetic guy. He always greeted you: 'Hi, Pau, how are you? How are you?' He was very affectionate, he was very friendly with his friends. He got on well with everyone, and the truth is that he was super talented.
"But it's true that, at that time, the boy hadn't made the change; he had become very small and he had a hard time. In terms of strength, it was very difficult for him to get there, but, of course, every time he touched the ball, it was different. He made the fans get out of their seats.
(The club had to) to trust in him, in his talent, which is why they ended up signing him from Betis. And look, in the end, the forces - as we always say - end up equaling out, and so we have another outstanding player.
"But I would highlight him on a human level, because I remember him as a super-smiling boy, who always greeted everyone, who in the end was very far from home... the boy always had a smile on his face. And I remember him, to be honest, as a very, very nice guy."
Is there anyone you coached at the club who has surprised you, perhaps by going further or earlier than you expected in the staff?
"Well, I'm not going to deceive you; I'm surprised with everyone.
"To see Gavi playing right now; outside Barca, also Arnau Martinez at Girona, Gabri at Braga.... Seeing them play surprises me a lot because they are very young and they have been playing for years. For example, in the case of Arnau Martinez at Girona, he has been playing in the top division for many years... I remember when I was younger and I watched Xavi and Iniesta play, they were many years older than these guys.
"And then when I see Bernal, Lamine, and Xavi Espart, I go crazy. I mean, how can it be that they are so young and give such a good performance?
"So, there isn't one player that surprises me, there are many. I'm very surprised that all these players have arrived, and above all, the performance they're giving, it seems really crazy to me.