Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, who grew up in Catalonia and played for Barça, has commented on the imprisonment of Catalan leaders Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart.
Guardiola, in a press conference before match day 9 of the Premier League, said that the Jordis were imprisoned for defending democracy: "We're in a democracy and we all have to respect it. These two men were defending the democracy, they were defending the freedom to express their opinion and now they're in prison."
City's coach has already dedicated his team's Champions League win over Napoli on Tuesday to Sànchez and Cuixart, the day after the two were sent to prison.
Guardiola, who in September won the Premier League Manager of the Month award, continues growing his team, which is alone at the top of the table ahead of Manchester United after a string of wins, many of them routs. This Saturday, City will welcome Burnley, one of the revelations of the early stages of the season, to the Etihad Stadium (3pm local time, GMT+1).