Laudrup's departure from Barcelona was a huge blow for the fans and his teammates alike. Pep Guardiola was reportedly so upset by the news that he cried and begged Laudrup to change his mind. Reflecting on his time at Barcelona, Laudrup commented, "I think we played some very good football, and I think most of all we demonstrated that even without getting the ten best players in the world, you can have the best team. Because everybody talked about Begiristain, Bakero, Guardiola, Stoichkov, and Koeman, but when we started none of us was a best player, then we became maybe the best team in the world, together with AC Milan in that period."