Whether it is an 18-year-old prodigy in the making such as Clara Serrajordi at Barcelona, a superstar like Erling Haaland at Manchester City, or a serial Champions League winner in Luis Enrique at Paris Saint-Germain, each spoke, unprompted, about their drive and motivation coming from a simple love of what they do. It may seem obvious, but as the politics of the game take up ever more of the conversation, it is refreshing to hear three such different individuals strip it all back to the very basics of what got us into football in the first place.

We also took a trip to savour some football in San Marino and Seville, cast an eye on what makes penalty shoot-outs so terrifyingly glorious, talked music with Hearts fan Charlie Macleod-Adams and Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie and reminisced on the beautiful football kits from the ‘90s. Issue 28 is all about the emotion football evokes in each of us.