00:00We'll take questions from English media first, followed by any questions from French media.
00:06Hi, Ruben. Just describe to me how it was in the dressing room full-time on Sunday
00:12and how it felt to be stood in front of those supporters given the performance you just put in
00:16and everything that's happened over the past couple of weeks.
00:19Well, can you hear me? It was great. It was great. Amazing support from our fans.
00:26They stood behind us. We will fight for them always until the end.
00:32And it was obviously a special feeling to get that win in such a difficult atmosphere
00:39and also because of it being the first game after international,
00:43which we know by religion that is normally a difficult one.
00:47You've experienced some incredible moments at the Etihad and some brilliant atmospheres over the past six years.
00:51Do you expect this game to be extra special?
00:55Well, we'll see. It's a massive game and I believe everyone is excited for it.
01:00It will be a great time for us to feel ourselves at this level against one of the best teams
01:06in Europe at the moment.
01:10So we're excited for the challenge. I believe everyone is. The fans, I imagine, they can't wait to be there
01:16tomorrow just like us.
01:17So, yeah, I think it will be special.
01:19Hi, Ruben. That celebration at Anfield, was it more satisfying to have won in a difficult kind of environment away
01:29at Liverpool?
01:29Or was it more satisfying to kind of almost as a group stick two fingers up to everyone else who's
01:34been criticising you and the club over the last few weeks?
01:37Well, I feel like it all mixes together a little bit, but I feel like mainly we all know that
01:43it's not easy for us in recent years to get those three points at Anfield.
01:49And as such, it's obviously, I think, I think that is definitely the main reason, because at the end of
01:58the day, we're here for the points, we're here to win, to win competition.
02:02So, I think that's, without a doubt, the main thing in our minds.
02:10Ruben, obviously, the club's got an appeal lodged with the Premier League at the moment.
02:16But there's been a lot of criticism, a lot of attention on the club over the last couple of weeks.
02:22Some Liverpool fans use the word cheats when chanting on Sunday.
02:27I was just wondering, as a squad, how do you kind of deal with that and how do you kind
02:31of block out that noise?
02:33I mean, I feel like when you build yourself as a player, you build yourself against any kind of noise.
02:41So be it the one you just described, so be it any other kind.
02:45So, personally, and I really feel like I speak for the whole group, we're very calm.
02:53We trust the club, we're very calm and we're very focused on enjoying football.
02:59We know the team we've got, we want to make the most out of it, we want to win.
03:03And that's the only thing in our minds.
03:05If there's more or less noise or whatever the reason the noise is, at the end of the day, it's
03:10all the same.
03:10Same as before, because people don't love us winning and we love to win.
03:15Ruben, you were here in 2023 when the charges first dropped and you ended up that season winning the treble.
03:24As much as you block out the noise, can you as a group of players, can you use it as
03:29fuel to keep on winning on the pitch?
03:33I mean, it really goes on the side.
03:39Yes, there's a lot of noise and it's almost impossible to avoid seeing something even as being as private as
03:47we can be
03:48and just doing our own lives on your phone.
03:51It's impossible to avoid everything.
03:54But I feel like we're also very good at focusing ourselves in our work, in our job, doing it right,
04:02making the most of it,
04:04being happy every time we come to work and our minds are very much there and only there.
04:10It's the things we can control, it's the things we've always been doing and enjoying so much.
04:17So we have full confidence on the club, we trust the club and we love to win.
04:26And obviously when three years ago you were all together, kind of as players here, because it was in the
04:31season.
04:32But with this news coming during the international break, did that make any difference,
04:36having to ring-round players or anything like that?
04:39Sorry, what did you say in the beginning?
04:40Just because this news broke during the international break and all of the squad were all over Europe, all over
04:47the world,
04:47did that change anything for how you as players came together?
04:51Well, to be honest, when it broke we obviously felt like we should have a conversation as soon as we
05:00got back.
05:01We did so just for everyone to be on the same page and to obviously be clear about our peace
05:07of mind.
05:07And we moved on from there. Obviously it happened in a moment where we were not together,
05:14but quickly we reached out to each other and obviously quickly as well we found calm and we progressed forward.
05:24Martin? Just behind you.
05:29Ruben, with all this going on in the background, how big is your role as captain to sort of keep
05:35everyone's spirits up?
05:37Specifically for what's happening. I would say just as any other year, any other captain, any other kind of responsibility.
05:46Because to be the captain of your team is to always be there for whatever is needed.
05:52And this time it's maybe a different challenge. Well, not different because it happened in the past already.
05:57And I'm here for it and so will be the other three captains and so will be the rest of
06:03the team.
06:04We will defend the club, we will fight for it and we trust the club.
06:09Hi, Ruben. There has been some criticism of the celebrations at Anfield on Sunday.
06:14The manager has just been in and he said, well, what do you want us to do? We won at
06:16Anfield 3-0.
06:17Obviously you were part of the squad that won at Anfield last season.
06:20When you compare those two things, was Sunday more satisfying? Did it feel less satisfying? Was it just the same?
06:26Well, I very much stand by the manager's words as well. It's a win at Anfield.
06:31In whatever circumstance, so be it now, maybe earlier in the season, so be it later in the season, anytime.
06:41I will, I, and when I say I, I think we will enjoy it just as much and we will
06:50celebrate however it feels in the moment.
06:54And it will obviously be a show of how much it means to us.
07:01Hi, Ruben. When you say people don't love city winning, do you think that, do you feel that going around
07:09the country,
07:11despite the football that you play, that people really don't, don't love you, love to see you win?
07:17No, I mean it as a normal scenario where whenever you win, obviously there's people that are not happy with
07:24it
07:24because they want to, they have the same ambition, they want to win as well, and we do our own,
07:28yeah.
07:31Hi, Ruben. Just following on from what you're saying about the celebrations on Sunday,
07:36do you get the feeling reading things and seeing how people are talking about the situation on the radio or
07:43the television,
07:44do you get the sense that you as players are being told how you should be reacting to what is
07:49going on at the moment?
07:51No. To be honest, we do what we do. We go on the pitch, we play football and we win.
08:00And I mean, no. The answer is no.
08:09Hi, Ruben. Erling talked about the team's mental strength after the Liverpool game.
08:14Has everything that's happened the last week brought the dressing room closer together?
08:17And how important is Erling in this situation as a leader for the club and for you as the players?
08:24Obviously, it's one of us, it's him, he's important just as everyone else in the team. And he talked about
08:34mental strength,
08:36which obviously it's one to bring out, how calm everyone has been in the situation and how mentally strong everyone's
08:44been,
08:44focused on doing their job, nothing else, obviously trusting the club and just playing with a smile on their faces.
08:52And I feel like that shows a lot of character.
08:55We'll take some questions from French media, please.
09:02Hi, Ruben. Minutes ago you said PSG was the best team in Europe and a lot of people in France
09:07are asking the question,
09:08can PSG win a third time in a row? So I wanted your opinion, if you could elaborate on that,
09:14please.
09:15Well, hopefully they cannot. I mean, they're obviously a great team.
09:20And there's no way not to say it. I personally know a few players of them, I know how good
09:28they are.
09:29You can see the flexibility they have in each moment of the game.
09:34And obviously I feel like those Portuguese players that I know so well are also a reflex of the rest
09:40of the team.
09:42And you need to be very good to beat them. That's what we aim them for. And that's it.
09:47Last question here.
09:49Bonjour, Ruben.
09:50Je présente la chaîne de Centrale Asie. C'est pourquoi nos spectateurs intéressent beaucoup à Abdoukadi Roussanov.
09:57Donc pour raconter quelque chose de leur processus de récupération, de leur caractère, même dans ces situations très difficile,
10:06compliqué pour lui et pour la défense de Manchester City.
10:11So you said Kuzanov, and then you said how his situation is going, his recovery?
10:19Yeah, yeah.
10:20Recovery from what?
10:22But he has not played.
10:26I mean, he's one of us. He's obviously a very talented player and he's very strong. So he's one more
10:37to help.
10:39Great. Thank you, everyone. Leave it there.
