Valverde talks Dembele, Griezmann, Arthur and El Clasico

Ernesto Valverde held his pre-match press conferece on Tuesday ahead of tomorrow’s visit from Villarreal in La Liga.

The Barcelona boss faced plenty of questions about players such as Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele and had plenty to say.

Here are the best bits:

Valverde on Dembele going out on loan

We have to realise he just got here. He’s had some injuries and getting playing time in our team is not easy. He’s an incredible talent, technically outstanding, he’s quick, a difference-maker.

Maybe he needs to work on defence a little bit and some other areas. Maybe putting on pressure after we lose the ball. But we know he’s young, he’s had a tough season and we hope he will continue to develop next year.

Valverde on Antoine Griezmann

I don’t know how relevant it is that he met with Cerezo. He’s a great player, I have no doubt about that. I’m sorry but I think we have to be cautious about players who don’t play for us.

I think we have to respect what we have here and also our opponents. Griezmann has a final coming up and we have to be careful. He’s a great player, that’s clear. In the future, we’ll see what happens.

Valverde on El Clasico

These conversations that the players have with the referees. I have a lot of experience, I have seen many things from many teams, and in the tunnels as well

I don’t doubt the honesty of the referee when it comes to his decisions in a match, or when a Barcelona player or one of Real Madrid’s protests

Just as we are accustomed to criticism, referees are accustomed to talking to players.

Valverde on Arthur

Arthur is a great player and the club have followed him for a while. We know he’s a good player, that he has a profile which can adapt to our style of play and we’re keeping an eye on him because he is young and he has a great future ahead of him