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With Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid and Atlético vs Bayern Munich now out of the way, there is one game neutrals will be chomping at the bit for in the Champions League group stages, and that is Manchester City-Barcelona.

The prospect of Pep Guardiola’s new force going toe to toe with Luis Enrique’s Barcelona is pretty much a dream come true for football fans, and the game should be a good one.

Neutrals aside, the game is a very important one for Manchester City as a club, as a win would put them ahead of Barcelona in their group, and Mundo Deportivo are reporting the Premier League side are taking extra steps to be fully prepared for the clash.

The Spanish newspaper report on Friday that Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain brought a large group of Manchester City staff to the Convent Begur, a ‘wonderful enclave located on the Costa Brava with an altar dedicated to the Santa Reparata, a virgin who, legend has it, prevented some Italian sailors from drowning on the Sa Riera beach.’

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While at the relaxing location, the staff enjoyed great cuisine, such as prawn with garlic ice cream or stuffed figs, accompanied by DO Empordà wines.

In fact, Begiristain and Soriano were so happy with the service provided, they gave all the employees of the restaurant City keychains as a thank you.

The two executives decided on the trip in order to get senior officials of the club used to a way of working and understanding the Catalan lifestyle.

Manchester City have taken lots of tips from Barcelona, and taking some of the staff over to experience the best of what Catalonia has to offer is just another way of following that path, and making the club more ‘Barcelona’

Mundo say this trip was part of their aim to ensure Manchester City is one of the largest teams in Europe, and who best to learn from than one of the most successful clubs in recent years?