SUMMARY
- Gerard Pique believes Lionel Messi was a menace during La Masia days.
- Pique believes that Messi puts his team ahead.
It is quite evident that Gerard Pique will have an undying love for FC Barcelona for the rest of his life. The Spaniard grew up as a fanboy of the Catalan club and cannot stop gushing about it or its players.
One of Gerard Pique’s favorite topics to talk about is Barcelona’s all-time top scorer, Lionel Messi. Pique had the fortune of sharing the soccer pitch with the Argentine for FC Barcelona, and the Spaniard cannot stop praising him.
Q: Was there anytime Messi payed attention to what Ronaldo was doing when at FC Barcelona?
Gerard Pique 🗣: “NEVER…Leo Messi has always been a team focused player, he didn’t care if who scored or not….All he always wants is for his team to win”
Pique 🗣: “When I was playing… pic.twitter.com/ozQ053S5Nd
— Max Stéph (@maxstephh) March 22, 2024
His recent praises for the FIFA World Cup 2022 winner, however, also drag his fiercest rival into the conversation. And as a true FC Barcelona fan, Gerard Pique went all guns blazing on the rival.
Gerard Pique talks about growing up with Lionel Messi
The 37-year-old joined FC Barcelona’s famed academy La Masia in 1997, three years prior to the Argentine. Gerard then transferred to the U-16 team of Barca in 2001. Messi and Pique developed a close bond in the academy, which continued when they played for the senior team.
Lionel Messi brought a lot of success to the Catalan club during his playing years, annihilating his opponents with his godly talent and skills. However, Gerard Pique believes that he had seen the signs pretty earlier.
He recalled the days when Gerard Pique’s team used to win by huge margins at La Masia, thanks to Lionel Messi’s heroics. The 46-year-old said, “During our Barca youth academy days, it was boring. WHY? we always won games 30-0,35-0 because of Messi. He was scoring from everywhere.” He also revealed that the trio of him, Messi, and Cesc Fabregas used to be a very close-knit one during the La Masia days.
🗣️ “Leo was something different”
Gerard Pique says Lionel Messi was ‘something different’ compared to every player he ever played with, including Cristiano Ronaldo 🌍💫 pic.twitter.com/R7RTQTGSdq
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 20, 2024
The Spaniard also claims that Lionel Messi was never preoccupied with what Cristiano Ronaldo was doing at Real Madrid. The two had developed a very fearsome rivalry during the 2010s by virtue of being the two best players playing for two elite clubs.
He said, “NEVER…Leo Messi has always been a team focused player, he didn’t care if who scored or not….All he always wants is for his team to win.” Gerard Pique believes that the Argentine has never been interested in personal accolades and has always put his team ahead. The Spaniard believes that the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry was a narrative created by the media and had no real existence.
Pique believes CR7 changed his playing style because of Messi
However, the 46-year-old has suggested a different thought for Cristiano Ronaldo. Pique believes that the Portuguese was always concerned by Lionel Messi’s performances, to the extent that he needed to change his playing style. The King’s League owner has suggested that CR7 tried his best to be in a conversation with Lionel for the best player in the world, which didn’t even exist.
Gerard Pique revealed how CR7 was more of a skilled winger during his Manchester United days. He said, “When I was playing with young Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United, he was a winger and was skillful.”
The Spaniard believes that Cristiano Ronaldo became a goalscorer so he could give competition to Lionel Messi. Pique said, “When he joined Real, he changed and focused more on scoring goals because that was the only way he could get in a conversation that involves Messi.”
Cristiano Ronaldo x Gerard Pique back in the Manchester United days. — 📸 pic.twitter.com/PGvlBeuyol
— TCR. (@TeamCRonaldo) June 8, 2020
It is the first time that a player who has played with both CR7 and Messi has revealed such intrinsic details about the duo’s rivalry. However, the readers should be careful of the fact that Gerard Pique has been a diehard FC Barcelona fan for his life, and will always have a soft corner for Messi in his heart.
The soccer world, therefore, should take the Spaniard’s comments with a pinch of salt. It should not trigger another baseless comparison between two of soccer’s greatest players.