AS.com

Barcelona's captain isn't taking anything for granted despite the fact that his team's advantage over their biggest rivals in the Liga is now 13 points: "If there's a team that doesn't throw in the towel it's Madrid. We're were in this situation a few years ago, with a 12-point lead, and in the end we had to go and win the Liga at the Bernabéu. This year is the same, we'll have to win the Liga there."

On his new contract: "I've just been focused on recovering after my arm injury. At the moment it's being discussed with the club and progress being made. I think it'll be quick and there shouldn't be any problems. I want to keep playing but I'm not going to limp around the pitch. As soon as I don't feel good about it I won't carry on even if I have a contract in effect."

"Injuries are a part of football. When I feel like I'm not enjoying it anymore I'll stop. I've been through some tough times. The arm injury was a big one but I've come back and I'm enjoying being on the pitch. I haven't felt like this for a while. I want to play until I'm 40 and I'll try to achieve that."

Continuing for Spain: "At the moment I want to find my form at Barcelona. When the next call-up comes I'll talk to the boss and if he thinks it's a good idea, I'll continue. I don't have any deadlines."

Distance between Barça and Madrid: "If there's a team that doesn't throw in the towel it's Real Madrid. They'll fight until the end; they've shown it every year. We can't sit back and take it as won. We'll have to go to the Bernabéu to win the Liga."

"If someone had told us about the 13-point gap at the start of the season we wouldn't have believed them. But the numbers are really good and we've earnt this on the pitch."

The team's confidence: "The team has a lot of confidence; we're on fire. We've been lucky at the right time but the reason is the team dynamic, and the work everyone's doing. It might sound like a cliché but we can't make any assumptions because we'll pay dearly."

The match against Valladolid: "You've got to try and win every match. The character of this team is such that we always come out to win."

Opponents think the Liga is decided: "You've got to be cautious here. The Liga isn't won, it's won at the end of the season. This is a winning team but if you relax you pay for it."

The chants of 'Mourinho, stay' at the Camp Nou: "Mourinho is a fantastic coach, and he's won a lot of titles. But we have to focus on ourselves and forget about the other teams."

Song's adaptation: "He's a great player - he'll help us a lot. He has the best centre midfielder in the world ahead of him in this position, but he'll help us whenever he plays."

His political stance: "I can give my opinion like any citizen. It's not politics, it's culture because it's our language."