Barcelona have just completed arguably the greatest, most thrilling, unpredictable and dramatic sequence of four high-stakes matches across just 15 days that club football has ever seen.
If you've loved this outrageous spectacle, the bad news is that their coach, Hansi Flick, wants such football to be put to a stop. Immediately. But before you rename him Hansi the Grinch, the bitter, misanthropic green creature who stole expected goals, hear me out.
Between April 26 and May 11, we were privileged to witness a Copa del Rey final, a two-legged UEFA Champions League semifinal, two decisive periods of extra time, a total of 25 goals (many of them filthily beautiful), three different host cities (Seville, Barcelona and Milan), all followed by hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide -- topped off by the magic of a teenage genius (Lamine Yamal) while two trophies (the Copa, and LaLiga) were sealed.