Diogo Dalot puffs out his cheeks. The question is whether, during his eight years at Manchester United, it has been hard to watch neighbors Manchester City be so successful, and he needs a moment before he's ready to answer.
"I'm not going to say that it's not been painful because it has been," he tells ESPN. "There were seasons where we couldn't even compete against them. It's painful to say."
It's not that Dalot hasn't had any highs. He was part of the United team that won the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup against City in 2024. It's just that silverware has been far more regular on the blue side of Manchester since he arrived from FC Porto as a teenager in 2018.
Five Premier League titles, three FA Cups, four Carabao Cups and the UEFA Champions League to be exact.
It's the kind of record United boasted when he was growing up in Portugal. He was born in Braga in March 1999, a couple of months before Sir Alex Ferguson's team won the treble. He was 14 when United won the last of their 20 top-flight titles.
"I want to be a part of the team that puts Man United back on top because that's what I've watched from this club growing up," Dalot says. "They were winning, competing, having the best players in the world, and I want to be a part of it."
City are the visitors to Old Trafford on Sunday and, all being well, Dalot will make his 250th United appearance. As the club's second-longest serving player behind Luke Shaw, he's well placed to discuss why United haven't been able to consistently challenge City over the past decade. The constant state of flux hasn't helped.
Dalot has played under five permanent managers. It's eight if you count interim and caretakers. As well as upheaval in the dugout, the dressing room has seen players come and go, with many big-money transfers failing to live up to their promise. Dalot has seen it all.
"I cannot speak for everybody, but what I try to do with myself is to think about what I want to achieve, where I want to go," he says. "When I sign for the club, I don't sign it thinking that in two or three years I'm going to leave. I signed because this is the best place to be. You're being a part of a club that can be the biggest club in the world.
"If there are players that during this time don't relate to that or don't feel that's what they need or what they want, then I can only say good luck and try to do that somewhere else."
Dalot admits he "struggled" at the start of his United career. He was made to wait for his opportunity under Jose Mourinho. During Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's time in charge, he was loaned to AC Milan. The spotlight at Old Trafford is intense. Already this season, the defense has faced criticism after conceding six goals in games against Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton.
Dalot has learned to deal with the scrutiny. Now one of the senior players, he tries to help teammates cope with the weight of the shirt.
"When I arrived, I had a few players that were here for a long time that gave me that help of understanding," he says.
"Sometimes you're going through a tough period and it's not as bad as you think. Sometimes people misunderstand the criticism that it's not always bad. Sometimes it's constructive criticism and you need to take some responsibility.
"When things are going really well, it can make you feel that you're one of the best players in the world. You get too high and then you get a setback and you go back to the bottom.
"I think being here for so long, I feel that it's my responsibility to sometimes try to help players to understand that sometimes it's not as bad as they think and sometimes it's not as good as they think. I feel that now it has to be one of my roles for sure."
Dalot has sympathy for players who struggle with the pressure -- but insists it's part and parcel of playing for United.
"I think it's not easy," he says.
"Unless you know what it is to play in such a big club and the type of pressure that you will get, it's really tough for you to understand until you arrive and until you feel it. "At the same time, I think it's good for you to feel that in the beginning because it actually makes you understand how big the club is.
"For me, it's like a privilege to feel because it means that you're playing for such a big club on such a high level. I think that's what we need to feed us every day."
United have endured a mixed start to the season, taking four points from three Premier League games. With City next up, Dalot knows the importance of a derby win.
Victory in the same fixture in January -- Michael Carrick's first in charge after the removal of Ruben Amorim as head coach -- triggered a run of form which eventually ended in Champions League qualification that at one stage under Amorim looked unlikely.
"What I've learned through this time here is that these games change seasons," Dalot says. "We had the example last year where we were really not in a good moment and the game against City just gives you the confidence to go through a run of games of winning and winning.
"This season we didn't get the points that we probably should have and wanted, but these games can give you that spark of making you feel that you can really push. There's no other fixture that we would love to play right now."
Aside from maybe Liverpool, there's no other fixture United fans want to win more. And, according to Dalot, supporters aren't shy about letting players know.
"It happens a lot," he smiles. "I've had a couple of episodes where they say the only thing they want through the season sometimes is just for you to win against Liverpool or win against City. But that just shows how important it is for the fans to feel that this club is on top of others and beating their rivals."
As sweet as derby wins are, Dalot has more lofty ambitions.
United's rebuild is aimed at challenging for the Premier League title in 2028 -- the club's 150th anniversary -- and he admits that only lifting the biggest trophies will make him consider his time in Manchester an unmitigated success.
"For me, it's winning the Premier League, winning the Champions League," Dalot says. "If you look at the time that I've been here, there's not one time that we actually competed for the Premier League, arriving in May, the last fixtures and you're there.
"It would be the biggest achievement of my life probably, to be a part of something that would put this club fighting for those competitions because, to be completely honest, it's where this club should be.
"I know that if we get to that stage of getting close, I think we will create something around the club. That's what feeds me the most is to do whatever I can to be a part of it and hopefully get to that moment."
