“We will vote,” Guardiola said. “Even if the Spanish state does not want it. There is no other way.”

The region held a non-binding vote in 2014, in which independence comfortably won. Although less than half of the 5.4m electorate cast their vote, it was still claimed by Catalan leaders as a monumental victory and further evidence that the region should be granted a formal referendum.

That is something Madrid firmly wants to resist, and is an issue that poses a raft of questions about the future of the Catalan economy, including its under-fire tourism industry.

“There are so many unknown factors,” says Professor Sebastian Balfour of the London School of Economics and Political Science. “For example, Catalonia is part of Spain’s national debt, but what proportion will it pay for past debt?

“Then you have questions over exports and imports. What is going to happen to the main market for Catalonian goods, which is of course Spain? How is that going to be worked out? It is a mess. It is so difficult to negotiate and it has to be negotiated issue by issue.”