Luis Enrique spoke at a press conference at Las Rozas on Thursday. He sent an optimistic message and doubled down on his squad size line despite complaints.
“Right now I would call up 23 players instead of 24, the WHO and people who know about medicine say however many more people you have together, the easier it is to get the virus. I would not have changed my plan.”
The coach continued: “We have acted with transparency, there is nothing to hide. The uncertainty of the situation is not agreeable but there is no fear, that is a strong word.”
He said the Busquets case “caught us by surprise” after “seven days following the protocols, including the most demanding from UEFA.
“Being in the bubble is very good if there is no virus but if it comes in then it’s harder to manage. We suffered a second positive and we had to activate a plan B for if the virus took hold.”