Barcelona midfielder Gavi bristled that his critics “have no f***ing clue about football” ahead of his side’s Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund.
The Spain international was responding to a question about him being perceived to be more physical and winning plaudits for his work-rate but that his technical ability on the ball gets overlooked.
“The people who say that have no f***ing clue about football,” the 20-year-old told a press conference. “That’s the truth, but I get it, it’s football. Everyone thinks what they want to think, so it’s OK.”
🎙️ GAVI: “I have a great connection with Hansi Flick. He really trusts me and I am thrilled to have him as a coach.”#BarçaBVB@ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/biNrQt12WE
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 8, 2025
Gavi missed a large chunk of last season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and has not been an automatic selection in this campaign under Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.
“Hansi and I understand each other very well,” Gavi said. “He understood that I was coming back from a very serious injury and that’s difficult; to have an entire year out is not easy.
“I think I’m having a great season given the injury I’m coming back from and I have a lot of trust in the coach.”
Barcelona are yet to be beaten in 2025, a remarkable run stretching 22 games in all competitions, but Gavi, who scored in a 1-1 draw against Real Betis at the weekend, insisted they are not unstoppable.
“We’re having a great season but we don’t feel we’re invincible,” Gavi added. “This is football: you’re not always going to win.
🎙️ Kovac on the opponent:
“Of course Barcelona have strengths, a hell of a lot of them. But every opponent also has weaknesses, which I don’t want to talk too much about now. We’re coming here and want to win the game.”#BarcaBVB
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) April 8, 2025
“We need to be humble and we need to keep our feet on the ground. There’s a lot of games left to play. We want to win as many titles as possible and so we take things game-by-game.
“People can put us as favourites (for the Champions League) or not, I don’t really care. We need to focus on our tasks, which is to beat Borussia, that’s the next task in hand.”
Dortmund were beaten by the LaLiga leaders in December and head to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Wednesday needing to salvage their season as they currently sit eighth in the Bundesliga.
“Barcelona are the slight favourites, but we’re coming here to win the game,” Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac told a press conference.
“Of course Barcelona have strengths, a hell of a lot of them. But every opponent also has weaknesses.”
