Pep Guardiola, Lionel Messi and more relive historic Barcelona side in 'Take The Ball, Pass The Ball' documentary

For four seasons they played perhaps the finest football ever seen. Now, the story of Pep Guardiola’s brilliant Barcelona team has been turned into a fascinating film, told through the words of many of the key protagonists in the era-defining side.

‘Take the Ball, Pass the Ball’ features exclusive interviews with Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry, Carles Puyol, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets, Samuel Eto’o and many more, while there is also a rare contribution from Guardiola himself.

The film, which is inspired by Graham Hunter’s book 'Barça: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World' and directed by Duncan McMath of Zoom Sport, looks at how Guardiola transformed the Catalan club between 2008 and 2012 in four fantastic seasons, which yielded an amazing 14 out of a possible 19 trophies.

The interviewees give tactical explanations of Pep’s ideas, discuss the rollercoaster ride in that time at Camp Nou and also detail the infamous rivalry with Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid side in his final season.

Johan Cruyff’s blueprint is another central theme, while the film also looks at Eric Abidal’s fight back from cancer and how Messi was almost rejected by Barca as a 13-year-old before going on to become the finest footballer in the world.

‘Take the Ball, Pass the Ball’ will be available to view in the UK in OurScreen cinemas from November 9th. It will be out on DVD and digital download from November 12th.