🎤 Gaizka Mendieta Exclusive Interview

October 2025

Speaking exclusively with OLBG, former Barcelona, Spain and Middlesbrough star Gaizka Mendieta has given his thoughts on Marcus Rashford, Lamine Yamal and more.

Mendieta has explained why Rashford has what it takes to win the Ballon d’Or next year and why Barcelona will eventually be knocking on the door of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. The former midfielder has also given his thoughts on Xavi replacing Ruben Amorim and a potential return to Old Trafford for David de Gea.

Q: What have you made of Marcus Rashford’s start to life at Barcelona?

On paper, Marcus Rashford was a great signing for Barca. Obviously we know the talent that he has, the potential that he has, the things that he is able to do.

The question mark was, is he going to be able to do that and how often is he able to do that? I think so far he has impressed a lot of people.

You'd be surprised, you’d like to think that people had watched the Premier League more or the other tournaments he has played in. I think a lot of fans had mostly focused on highlights rather than full games so that's why I think he surprised people.

If people had watched him, it wouldn't be a surprise because we know how good he is and I think he settled pretty quickly. Barca has been a difficult place for some other great players that have joined the club. But I think so far he's doing great. He's adapted to the position, he's adapted to the club.

I think he's certainly adapted to the city as well, which I think is very difficult. He has already scored and is getting assists. I think he has also become important with set pieces and overall, he’s doing great.

Q: Can Marcus Rashford follow in the footsteps of Gareth Bale?

It wasn’t only a good start for Gareth Bale, but look at all the Champions League that followed. He was playing for the best in Real Madrid, a club that has won so many trophies, but he also settled quickly into the system.

Maybe they adapted to him more than he needed to adapt, a few times he had to play in a 4-4-2 but I think they changed quickly to the 4-3-3 to get the most of him and the rest of the players.

I think it's early to compare Marcus Rashford to Bale, but it’s certainly been a good start for him.

I'm sure Barca and himself will be happy if he can continue that, it could be a long-term success rather than a short-term one.

If Barca win the league and get to the later stages of the Champions League, hopefully he and the team bring trophies to the club, but it’s too early to compare him with Bale.

Q: Can Marcus Rashford compete for the Ballon d’Or?

When we are speaking about ability, Marcus Rashford does have what it takes to win the Ballon d’Or.

Rashford could be better or could be as good as anyone. Now it’s about being in a different stage of his career with a different club and he’s started very well, but the season is young.

There are many games, many things to be decided. The second part of the season is the most important when it comes to winning trophies, but we hope Barca will be there in the Champions League and in La Liga.

He's been important in the team and if they do win trophies, I don't see a reason why he can’t be on that list.

There's no question about what he can do, we know the ability and the skills that he has. It's up to him to deliver what everyone knows he can do.

Q: Could Mikel Arteta end up as Barcelona manager?

Whenever Mikel Arteta’s time at Arsenal is up and he's looking for new experiences, big clubs will be knocking on his door.

The job he's doing at Arsenal and from now until the moment he leaves, which I'm assuming will be a long term, I'm sure there'll be more trophies in the cabinet.

Big clubs will be knocking on the door, Barca included, as well as other big clubs and even national teams, he will have a lot of offers on the table.

Q: Do you see Arsenal as Champions League contenders?

The Champions League is a very demanding competition but I think clubs at this level, they learn season by season and Arsenal are contenders.

Like PSG, every season Arsenal can get better, get stronger and keep getting to the latter stages.

Arsenal did very well last year and were obviously unlucky coming up against PSG. But certainly, they've learned from that and this season we will see a new Arsenal in the competition.

Could we see them in the final and lifting the trophy anytime soon? Why not.

Q: Can Martin Zubimendi help Arsenal to major silverware?

I think Martin Zubimendi is the kind of player that maybe fans don't really rate or don't really watch him often, but it's those kind of players that makes your team better when he has good players around him.

He does his job, which is not scoring goals, it's not his job to do that. But I guess with the freedom that he gets from Mikel Arteta, maybe the English Premier League football allows him to do that more than he probably did in Spain.

Tactically he has a bit more leeway to go forward so he can score goals, but it's not what he does best.

It's obviously his role to sit in front of the defense, behind the midfielders, getting balls forward quick and early, keeping the team compact.

He will certainly bring the level of Arsenal higher because he allows the players around him to be better.

Q: Is David Raya one of the best goalkeepers in the world?

Is David Raya one of the best goalkeepers in the world? I think he is. I remember when Luis Enrique brought him into the national team first and people were like, why is this goalkeeper playing?

We assume fans watch our football, not all of them do. I saw him do an interview recently and he said that he's been improving season after season.

I think he's up there with the best goalkeepers for sure. But like everyone he just needs to keep improving.

Sometimes he has gone under the radar and is underrated, but certainly those who watch football, we know how good he is. 100%.

Again, he's been there for a while now, he really knows the club, knows the philosophy, Mikel Arteta trusts him, which we know in goalkeeping is key.

He's also a very consistent goalkeeper. I don't think people realise that.

Q: Can Mikel Merino help Arsenal to the title as a striker?

Mikel Merino has caught us all by surprise. I think the first time he played as a striker was with Spain when he scored a fantastic header. Maybe it was more to do with the lack of options on the bench for Spain than actually maybe coaching him that way.

He has confidence in terms of understanding what he needs to do in the role and what he’s capable of doing. You cannot give this role to someone that can’t score goals.

Obviously he has goals in him and by bringing him closer to the goal we’ve seen how many times he has scored. It’s a surprise, but he's certainly adapted very well.

Maybe Mikel Arteta can bring him closer to Viktor Gyokeres, or maybe he is an alternative.

Q: Can Mikel Merino put pressure on Viktor Gyokeres?

Viktor Gyokeres is new at the club and is new in the Premier League so these things need time.

We have seen players adapting very quickly but that isn’t normal, usually you need a bit more time and especially for a striker as the game is so fast.

But certainly the numbers are there for Mikel Merino. I think what is important is for Arteta to have options, players with different profiles and different characteristics.

You need to be able to change the game whenever you need to and I think it's great for the club, for the team.

That's why coaches like to have two players per position or two players that can play in the same position. That brings competition and makes players better.

Obviously you need to be demanding to bring the best out of them and Arteta will certainly do that for both of them.

Q: Could Nico Williams still be a target for Arsenal?

There has been an interview with Deco saying that it was the agent being persistent, I guess the agent would say that it was Barcelona being persistent.

Of course the last year for Nico Williams was unbelievable. He's a great, fantastic player. I think because the way he plays could adapt to either Arsenal or Barcelona.

He could be a Barca player, could be an Arsenal player, he could play for any of the big clubs in Europe. Athletic Club are missing him a lot, they are not doing so well without him.

I think he's a fantastic player that can decide games on his own. Arsenal, I'm sure, tried to sign him because there are not many of these kinds of players.

Fortunately, in Spain, we have a few. When you have players that can decide games on their own, big clubs are willing to have them.

Q: Is Inaki Williams right that Arsenal are Champions League favourites?

It’s early in the season, but with the new format, let's see what happens. PSG last year were on the brink of not even making it, they made the cut in the last game.

Arsenal for me, have gained more experience and that brings a lot to clubs and for managers like Mikel Arteta, they can really have the desire to grow and improve on their mistakes.

Certainly they will have improved and this season they may be slightly lower than PSG, Real Madrid and Barca – but for me, they're one of the candidates.

Q: Will it take a season for Xabi Alonso to settle at Real Madrid?

Managers can’t take years to win things at Real Madrid or to at least to challenge for trophies.

Xabi Alonso has been praised, to be honest. Maybe it was a bit too early in the season. He was doing great, but again, it's Madrid and things change very quickly as we saw.

But Madrid is Madrid. You need to win every game. You need to win every training session. You need to win all the time. And that pressure is there. He knows that.

Madrid are candidates to win La Liga, candidates to win the Champions League for sure because of the level of the individuals they have and as a club they need to be there.

Maybe we will talk again in April and things are very, very different but I doubt it. I'm sure they will be there.

Q: Will Kylian Mbappe’s target be to win the Ballon d’Or?

People understand in Spain that you fail to win the Ballon d’Or without trophies. But nobody really understands the criteria when it comes to who wins and doesn't win.

But I think Mbappe, because he didn’t win a trophy, was punished highly. Obviously his individual performances were amazing in his first season in Real Madrid.

He has started this season even better which is incredible, but the fact is that he didn't win a trophy last season.

He's producing hugely. If Real Madrid won a trophy with his performances, I'm sure he would have been higher up on the ranks for sure.

Next year, I know all the players say it's the team trophies we care about, which is true, winning collective trophies is what it brings you the individual ones.

But either way, they need to win something for Mbappe and if they do, he will be high up in the Ballon d’Or race.

Q: Can Real Madrid cope without Jude Bellingham in the team?

Real Madrid found a good replacement for Jude Bellingham in Franco Mastantuono, but he is a completely different player.

What Bellingham brings to the team, no one else does. That's why he played in the game against Atleti.

He probably thought the game was going to be physical, strong. He would need both players in that position, getting in the box, accompanying Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.

Bellingham has worked very well in that sort of triangle and Xabi Alonso has lots of great options, it’ll be interesting to see how it works out, Mbappe will score the most goals and is now the number one in terms of leadership.

It’s interesting to see how Vinicius and Bellingham fit in with Mbappe in that triangle as Real Madrid try to win trophies.

Q: Could Xabi Alonso have a lasting legacy at Real Madrid?

I think the plan is a long tenure for Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid.

The plan was for a young manager and a younger team, which they have done with a big overhaul. The age has come down quite a lot.

For a young coach they obviously thought of him and they will be hoping that he is there for a long time.

We know Madrid don’t always stick by coaches unless you get trophies and even then it's debatable.

But, I think that the idea of someone like him is that he brings a new energy into a dressing room with new players, young players that need someone like him to teach them what Real Madrid means.

But at the same time, maybe there are better connections with his age gap than there was with Carlo Ancelotti.

Q: Could Xabi Alonso end up managing Liverpool?

Could Xabi Alonso end up at Liverpool? I'm sure he could because we always see these links with former players and former clubs.

I think it's a big advantage that they know the club, the city, the culture. I don't think Liverpool were on the table this summer because of the fantastic first season under Arne Slot.

Among the potential future coaches for Liverpool, Xabi Alonso will be on that list, for sure.

Q: What is going wrong for Manchester United?

It’s not been good for a long time.

There have been periods where managers like Jose Mourinho have won trophies, but it's been a while since Man Utd have been the Man Utd that we all know.

I don’t think it's down to players or coaches in particular. I think it's about the whole entity.

Now you need to have a project, you need to have a vision and build from there. You can't just bring in great players, great coaches and hope for the best.

Football nowadays is very competitive and doesn't work like that. PSG are a great example. They had the best players on the planet and it didn't work.

You need to have something stronger. You need to have something that gives you that vision and that platform to make players better in order to make the club bigger.

Of course, I don't know the inside details of the club, but from outside, that's what is missing.

Q: Could Xavi Hernandez be tempted by the Manchester United job?

I think if it's the right project, he will be tempted. Who doesn't want to coach in the Premier League? Who would not want to coach Manchester United, even if it's in a difficult time?

He won trophies at Barca during a very peculiar period of history of the club and he changed that.

Of course, he doesn't know Manchester United as he knows Barca, but he's been there, he knows that, he's capable of doing those things. So if the project seems right to him, I'm sure he will take it.

He's been preparing himself already, waiting for the chance to come. I know he's had a few options to go and coach, but it wasn't the right project.

I think for a coach like him, it's the project that matters, not only the history and the club. A lot of people were hesitant in his move to Barca because he had only been in Qatar.

People thought he wasn't ready, then he won the league and the Super Cup in his first season.

I think football has changed a lot. The coaches and players tend to adapt. It's at an incredibly high level and it's a lot faster because people are more prepared.

There's more tools out there for coaches to gain an understanding, knowing what's happening at other clubs and with other players.

He has his own platforms to understand and analyze situations. So wherever he goes, which could be Man Utd, he'll be prepared for the job he takes for sure.

Q: Was selling David de Gea a mistake by Man Utd?

I would have liked David de Gea to stay for sure, 100%. I'm sure he would have liked to stay as well. Then that sabbatical year would not have happened.

He still came back, went to Italy, and was the best goalkeeper in the Italian league. So it tells you the kind of goalkeeper that he is.

He is still one of the best goalkeepers in Italy, probably internationally. Even if it’s hard to compare different competitions.

To go back to Man Utd? I'm sure he would consider it. He was very happy there, he enjoyed being at a club like United. But he's also happy where he is now.

I think it was a rushed move away from United even if they wanted a change, they needed to have a good replacement.

Q: How highly rated as a manager is Cesc Fabregas?

He has great knowledge of football, he is overseeing great tactical systems because he's quite flexible in the way he plays, very attacking, exciting football.

I think the fans are very happy, the players are very happy because again, it's the kind of coach that he becomes with the energy similar to Xabi Alonso, he connects with the players in a very direct way.

I also think the project is fantastic. It's very exciting in the way they buy players and they have invested a lot of money to play the way that he wants to play.

Maybe one or two players have struggled to adapt quickly. They want the players, from the moment they arrive, to perform and it makes not only the club, but also the team and the players better.

He's making players better than they are when they arrive at the club. So it’s fantastic to watch and he obviously has an exciting future ahead.

Q: Would Cesc Fabregas be a better fit at Arsenal or Chelsea?

I'm sure there's been some conversations. But he's happy at Como. I know he's happy because the project is key, he is the one deciding who comes and goes and he is bringing the culture and the environment.

I'm sure Premier League clubs have approached him, former clubs will have approached him and we'll see him in the Premier League sometime in the future.

Would he suit Arsenal or Chelsea? It could be actually both. I think he's intelligent enough because he started to play in a way at Como and then he changed quickly.

They also change the system within games. I think he's obviously very intelligent, he was a very intelligent player and is a very intelligent coach.

He would adapt to whatever he has. If he goes to Chelsea and he has 50 players, he can pick and choose the system he wants to play.

If he goes to Arsenal he can pick the players that he wants. Judging right now, Arsenal looks more like the style of football that he would be playing.

Q: Which Premier League strikers could Barcelona and Real Madrid be targeting?

There was talk in Spain of Alexander Isak going to Barcelona before he joined Liverpool who are stronger financially.

Of course there will be links between the best strikers and Real Madrid and Barcelona, at the moment Barca still have Robert Lewandowski, but they’ll be looking for his replacement next year and Isak will be looked at.

He's a great striker, he's been in La Liga already, he knows the competition. His performances last season for Newcastle were amazing.

So far he seems to be settling quickly into Liverpool. Great strikers are never short of offers and opportunities in either Premier League or of course in Spain with the bigger clubs.

Q: Where do you stand on the Scholes, Lampard and Gerrard debate?

I played against Paul Scholes many times, maybe he gets credit now because he didn’t get the credit he deserved then.

Of course, when you play in a generation where Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard and many others were involved, it's difficult to get your name up there with those, but he was an amazing player.

He was an amazing player that maybe didn’t get the credit, some former players recognize that and we see that, but maybe not from fans in the media.

Maybe he got less publicity because he kept a low profile, but who knows.

You could not get the ball off him. He could play on the right, on the left, in the middle, as a striker. He could score amazing goals but was an amazing midfielder.

He is in the triangle with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, sometimes it’s just Lampard vs Gerrard, but why not Scholes.

Q: Was no one to blame for Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough exit?

When you have achieved certain things but you don't break that line where you make the difference, it's not always because the coach is not good enough, it's not because the team is not good enough, it's just because of the momentum and how tough the Championship is.

For the players we know it’s so difficult, you can be very good in the beginning of the season and then one bad decision or one bad game can cost you.

You could not blame anyone at Middlesbrough, I think for him, it was time to move on and maybe the club wanted to look for a different profile.

I think what we saw from Michael Carrick and the work he did in the last few seasons, they don’t want to throw that out of the window, they want to make the most of it.

But Carrick is still proving himself as a coach and I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in the Premier League soon.

Q: Would Michael Carrick have success as a temporary Man Utd manager?

Yeah, why not? Times have changed a lot and coaches are prepared. They watch football constantly, they analyze football constantly, so they are prepared and ready to jump into new situations.

If he has the opportunity and is given the time to coach, even if he's only there temporarily at United or even with another club, he will prove his value.

I think that's what also makes it difficult because there's so many competitive coaches out there, wanting and looking for jobs and it's not easy.

Q: How good would it be to see Middlesbrough back in the Premier League?

It'd be amazing. Obviously I miss Middlesbrough in the Premier League and for the Middlesbrough fans, it'd be fantastic.

It's such a tough competition. The Championship is so difficult and then you have the playoffs.

But it'd be amazing to see. It's early in the season. Sometimes you don't know if it’s better to start very well or to start slowly then catch up towards the end.

But maybe having started well, they will dip around Christmas time and then turn it around to end up on top. But of course I'd love to see Middlesbrough back.

Q: Are Wrexham famous in Spain like they are in the UK?

Wrexham are famous in Spain thanks to Disney, they have made them popular across the world.

I think it's fantastic for many football fans to see the progression, to see that Hollywood stars that everyone recognizes are involved in football, involved in probably the biggest sport globally.

They have a lot of fans even in Spain that follow the club and there's a fantastic connection there.

I think it's great marketing that even people that didn't know where Wrexham is, football fans across the world right now want to watch them play or see how they do thanks to the new owners.

But, of course it's not as simple as that as we know it's not Ted Lasso, you have to have the right people at the club, you have to have the right investment in football signings.

It takes more than just good actors to get to the Premier League.

Q: Could a Spanish signing like Juan Mata boost Wrexham even further?

I mean marketing wise for sure you want to have different nationalities, you bring them and you raise the profile in that country.

Of course I would like to see a Spanish player at Wrexham. Juan Mata is still in Australia. There's not many players of that era left now.

MLS took some of them, but I’m sure that Spanish players or any player would love to play in the English leagues, it's the home of football.

Q: Are celebrities buying clubs in Spain?

Ronaldo has actually just sold Valladolid, he was there, but I think he still owns a club in Brazil.

In Spain there are not many celebrities involved in clubs, there's more major businessmen from the US.

Spain attracts a lot of tourism, a lot of actors and celebrities but so far football has not been attractive to them. I don't know why.

At the derby the other day there were actors in the stands. We have seen Spanish actors or European or Hollywood actors coming to watch La Liga games but nobody has made that move still into buying clubs.

Hopefully soon we see actors buying Spanish clubs.

Q: Could Rafael Nadal be the next famous club owner?

Unfortunately the Americans got first to Mallorca, otherwise I’m sure he would have been there because his uncle worked at the club.

If the Americans weren't there, I'm sure he would have made a move.

Q: Could extending the World Cup even further be a mistake?

From a player perspective is it a good idea? Certainly not. It's more games at the end of the season, if they are at the end of the season or if they are in the middle. It's more games, it does affect the quality of the game.

It affects the physical status of the players and mentally as well. So I don't think it's good for players to have more games. They want to do a World Cup more often, they want to do the Club World Cup more often, and play more games in the Champions League.

So it's more games, more games, more games. I think it has an impact on the quality of games that we watch and certainly affects the mental health and physical health of the players. So I don't think it's good.

We should keep it as it is because that's for the best and it's meant to be the best team that wins any long-term competition.

Maybe you make the cut lower and the best players don’t play until the final stages of the competition, that affects your product.

At the end of the day, it affects the quality of the tournament. I'm not a big fan of that.

Q: Could Pep Guardiola be the next manager of England?

We’re talking about a lot of potentials, but Pep Guardiola was speaking about Brazil recently and knowing him, he would go for England for sure.

He loves football. He's passionate, crazy passionate about football. That's one of the reasons why he went to the Premier League. Why he went to Man City.

I think he had a chance to go to Manchester United first. He wanted to go to England to coach in the Premier League.

So coaching England – I'm sure it would be an option for him, 100%.

Q: Who do you see as the best midfielder in the world right now?

Unfortunately for him, unfortunately for Spain, Rodri has had injuries. Now it seems like it's slowly coming back and I wish him all the best for sure.

There's a lot of big midfielders. For me there's one that has been unfairly treated by the Ballon d'Or, which is Pedri.

I think Pedri at this moment in time, last season as well, is magnificent. He's taking Barca to the next level.

There's Vitinha as well there. Kevin de Bruyne seems to be still doing a job, as is Luka Modric with Milan.

But, Pedri right now, he's up there. For me, he's the best. It's a close competition, Arda Guler is up there as well with Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso.

On Pedri, I invite fans to watch Barca games, not just the highlights, the movements that he does, the passes that he does, some of them you don't see in the highlights, but it's out of this world, it's fantastic to watch.

Q: You almost went into athletics, could any current players make the switch?

In my days, it helped me a lot. Of course, now it's normal. Football players are athletes and individual athletes, it's not like before.

Barca, when I went, I started to do a bit more specific and individual coaching, depending on your position. But nowadays fitness is so important in preparation.

Again, for me, it was important to have been an athlete. It helped me obviously and my fitness levels, I could run more than a lot of players at that time and to be where I needed to be.

I knew my fitness would allow me to do things which probably a lot of players at the time could not.

I think football has changed a lot in that perspective. Is it better, is it worse? That's a different conversation but certainly players nowadays are athletes, they're not only football players.

Q: Could Adama Traore be a sprinter?

The change in his physical condition was incredible and it brought him into a new level of his football, taking him to the Spain national team at a time.

So it is important. It is important to have that. There has been talk about Mykhailo Mudryk potentially going to the Olympics. So why not?

There could be transitions. I'm not sure from athletics to football, but from football to athletics, it's more likely to happen.

Q: What have you made of Lamine Yamal’s progress at Barcelona?

It's out of this world, it's fantastic. The other day, he came back after four games out and it took him one minute to create a goal opportunity, which was offside, and to give an assist.

It's amazing what he can do. We see players try to get close to him, now they don't know what to do. If they get close to him, he goes left, right.

He can go either way, he's fast enough to leave the defenders behind. It's unbelievable. Again, it's very early to compare him to Lionel Messi, but I think it's difficult not to because of the way he plays and the things he does.

He reminds you of that Messi against Getafe goal, zigzagging, there are not enough words to describe the talent that he is. I think Barca are very lucky to have him.

We're very lucky to have him in La Liga and Spain. A talent like him, hopefully, because he's so young, will be taken care of well enough to last a long time.

Q: What makes Lamine Yamal so special?

I think people don't realize he's very humble. I know he’s in the news for a lot of stuff, but he's very humble, family orientated, down to earth, wanting to improve, wanting to learn from his teammates from every game.

It seems like the level of the football, when you think he's done everything, he just brings something new to his repertoire. He's just fantastic.

More importantly is the person behind it. It's someone who wants to learn and wants to improve, he doesn't think he's achieved everything yet.

He has the hunger, he wants to win trophies for the good reasons not for the individual reasons and I think that's fantastic to see in young players.

We see in many academies, players want to become stars overnight and it doesn't happen like that. He's been through that and he's prepared to be through that.

I think that's something he needs to be told because young players need to listen.

Q: Who does Lamine Yamal remind you of?

I think it's probably closer to Lionel Messi, which are big words to say. 1v1, maybe sometimes he’s a bit like Ryan Giggs. Giggs here in his prime when he was with the ball always attached to his boots, close to him.

It would only be big names you compare him to because the level of football he's displaying is amazing.

Q: What is your prediction for Barcelona vs PSG?

We're lucky to play in Montjuic, so we'll have a nice stadium. I see it being very, very tight, but I think the home factor will play a part and I think Barcelona have learnt a lot from that season.

The way they let that semi-final slip through their fingers at the very last moment, it hurt the club, the players as well, and they see this season as their season and they want to learn from that.

I think they will take every game very seriously, not that they didn't last season, but I think obviously playing against the current winners, the motivation is immense.

I think there is no big difference, PSG are number one to win again, but there is something there that tells me there is a little advantage to Barca for this one.

Quickfire Questions

Q: How much would a prime Gaizka Mendieta cost in today’s game?
Millions. We see moves of around 70 and 80, sometimes more, it was almost 50 (transfer to Lazio). So let's say around a hundred million.

Q: Who in today’s game reminds you of your own playing style?
I would say a bit of Pedri, I used to say Kevin de Bruyne, but yeah let's say Pedri in the modern day.

Q: Who’s the best midfielder in the world right now?
Pedri.

Q: One midfielder you never wanted to face again?
Cholo Simeone, Fernando Redondo, one any of those.

Q: Most underrated player you played with?
I'm not sure underrated, but he’s not named much — Michael Laudrup. Fantastic.

Q: Best midfield partner you ever had?
Luis Milla or David Albelda. Albelda probably.

Q: One midfielder you wish you'd played with?
Fernando Redondo.

Q: Toughest teammate?
The hardest was Cholo Simeone, who was in my team, thankfully.

Q: Toughest opponent?
As an opponent, probably Paul Scholes. Scholes was very tough to play against.

Q: Are today’s players too soft?
No, I think they're tough. They need to be tough because it's a very demanding game nowadays. Different toughness, but tough.

Q: Biggest joker in a dressing room?
I remember Juanfran. I remember George Boateng. Xavi was funny in Barca.

Q: Most stylish teammate?
The best, I'd say Pedja Mijatovic. He came every day to the dressing room like he was going to a very important meeting.

Q: Worst fashion sense?
There were a lot of bad tracksuit situations. He’s not gonna be happy but I'll say Joseph Job at Middlesbrough.