Pique trolls Real for 2022 Champions League, Ancelotti responds
Gerard Pique poked fun at Real Madrid by claiming that people will forget the club’s UEFA Champions League victories. Meanwhile, fans will celebrate Barcelona’s for generations to come.
Real Madrid supporters have never warmed up to the Spanish former defender, and it is easy to see why. The now 36-year-old spent almost a decade with the Catalan powerhouse after rising through the ranks at La Masia.
Although he suddenly announced his retirement from the sport last year, he has constantly remained in the public eye ever since. It makes great sense, given that he has never been shy to say what is on his mind.
As a result, a great deal of the Los Blancos fan base has been unimpressed by some of his previous remarks. And his latest statements will surely not be warmly received by people from the Spanish capital.
What did Gerard Pique say?
The ex-Barcelona defender has reignited the never-ending El Clasico rivalry discussion between the Catalan club and their arch-enemies. On this occasion, he voiced criticism against their UEFA Champions League victory from the prior year.
When asked about Los Blancos’ surprising 2021-22 Champions League victory, Gerard Pique made some wild assertions to Catalan radio RAC1.
“We are in a country in which more people support Real Madrid than Barcelona and they are the team from the capital. We’ll always be the ones who are in the shadows and trying to get one over on them. We don’t have to go into these battles and make our own way, which is closely linked to theirs because of the rivalry. Instead, I think we need to try to focus on who we are.
“Madrid’s current team is just more of the same. They transmit little but they get results and in February, they will be alive in all competitions. They have won 13 or 14 Champions Leagues, and it’s just one more, but when we win, it is remembered forever. The last Champions League they won was a miracle because they were inferior in every stage and in the final, and it will never be remembered.”
Not every team can stage a comeback repeatedly at the death. Carlo Ancelotti’s players did in that particular campaign with relative ease.
What did Carlo Ancelotti say?
At the end of the 2021-22 season, Madrid triumphed against PSG, Chelsea, and Manchester City. It reclaimed Europe’s top club trophy. Real won its 14th Champions League title with a 1-0 victory against Liverpool in the finals. Vinicius Junior scored the only goal in the final.
That same year, Barcelona fell in the first round of the tournament. Unfortunately, Barcelona has not won the tournament since 2014-15. Luis Enrique’s squad, led by Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar, defeated Juventus with ease.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has since fired back angrily at Pique’s remarks, expressing his severe disagreement with them. Pique’s comments insulted the manager of the Whites. He sees the remarks as minimizing Real’s accomplishments.
“Pique lives in his world, which is not that of Madrid. No Madridista can forget about the Fourteenth. All his life it will be remembered”, he stated following the triumph over Braga on Wednesday.
“Real Madrid have done better than others because it is not easy to pass. This does not mean that in the other two we are going to rest, because in the Champions League all the games we have to show our best level. It is a special competition for us and Real Madrid has built its history in this competition.”
PHOTOS: IMAGO