'Pep was always interested in your personal life and gave advice': Bartra

Marc Bartra started featuring sporadically for FC Barcelona in 2016 but couldn't break into the starting 11 to become a regular. This prompted the Spanish defender to move to Borussia Dortmund, who bought him for € 8 million to replace Mats Hummels then.
Bartra, who now plays for La Liga club Real Betis, was a part of Barcelona for 14 years. He has graduated from La Masia - the Catalan club's academy that has produced Leo Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.
Bartra recalled how astonished he was after seeing them in his first practice with the senior team."Yes, once I was in the first team, they were still my idols rather than teammates," he said.
"I particularly remember being in the dressing room on my first day of training with the first team. I was 17 and it was as if they were all in a bubble. I said to myself, 'I'm here to train with them having been watching them on TV for many years.' It was also a wonderful period for a Barça side that was winning the lot, including six-trophy hauls and trebles, etc. It was a dream come true and the feeling of fulfilling my dream brought the best out of me, both with the first and second teams."
Back then, Barcelona hardly ever turned to the transfer market to bolster their squad. The academy was churning out tremendous talent and the system welcomed the young ones at the same time. "I improved over those years and knew that if I did well with the first team, it would be with the help of homegrown players because I think they made up 80% of the squad. Players like Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Cesc (Fabregas), Pique, Sergio Busquets, Pedro. I was very lucky to be made to feel so welcomed and it was down to the fact that they had gone through the same process as me that I was able to enjoy such a gratifying experience," said Bartra who made 51 appearances for the eight-time German champions, winning the domestic cup once in his two year stint.
Bartra is one of those who was given a debut by Pep Guardiola. "It (relationship with Pep) was very good from the start. He was the first-team coach and he was there to win trophies. He had played for the club as well and gone through the same experience as me. He asked me plenty of questions and also gave me lots of advice in order for me to keep doing what I was doing and also to improve," recalled Bartra who will feature on Sunday against Athletic Bilbao in the La Liga.
"I remember that the first question that he asked me was about my studies and not abandoning my degree. He was very interested in your personal life and gave you confidence to train well and do your best. I'll always be grateful to him because he handed me my debut and I took my first steps into the first team with him. He's a coach who masters every phase of the game. He knows what you have to do in every position and he helped me so much. I was just a wide-eyed youngster who wanted to learn and observe everything he did," he added.