Pep Guardiola, of all people, understands the cultural significance of football.
He knows why Catalans at the Nou Camp wear yellow ribbons, he has experienced Bayern Munich's position as standard bearers for Germany in Europe, and the last three months will have revealed to him football's place in English society.
He has perspective, too. He lost his mother, Dolors Sala Carrio, to coronavirus at the age of 82 and he has friends and colleagues who have suffered similar bereavements.
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Yet on a day when a 22-year-old striker from Manchester United took on the Government over child poverty and won, it would be disingenuous to say the sport is without importance or influence.