Yaya Toure and Txiki Begiristain prepare for Barça return with Man City

Yaya Toure and Txiki Begiristain prepare for Barça return with Man City

Former Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain, now at Manchester City, couldn't believe that the clubs had been drawn together again, after they met in the Champions League last 16 in the 2013-14 campaign.

“It’s unbelievable – we don’t need to come next year," he said.  "Every tie in that draw is the same, it's fantastic, so we're looking forward to it.

"We have plenty of confidence with the way we qualified beating Bayern Munich at home and Roma away, so the players will be working hard to get fit and arrive with confidence for those games.

"We have improved our squad from last season and have real quality up front. It will be emotional and difficult, but is also a chance to visit family and friends. I have a lot of friends there, in the club and out of it.”

Begiristain isn't the only former Barcelona man among Manchester City's ranks.

The English side will be missing Yaya Toure for the first leg, who is suspended, but the Ivorian midfielder will be back in action for his return to Camp Nou.

Meanwhile, Barcelona's own sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said: "It's the same draw we had a year ago, it was a very difficult game and we are going to look forward to it.

"City have an outstanding squad with a very good coach, a very good team and are very competitive.

"We know all about them. They have been playing at a very high level and it is going to be difficult. Two great teams with incredible players and anything can happen. Luis Suarez has been performing superbly. Can we go further than last year? Hopefully we can go all the way."