Former Barcelona centre-back Gerard Piqué never needs a second invitation to mock Real Madrid and wasted no time in making another taunt shortly after Saturday’s one-sided Clásico.
The Catalan defender, whose grandfather was once BarcelonaThe vice-chairman, he made more than 600 first-team appearances and won a host of honors, including nine league titles. Piqué faced Madrid in 40 Clasicos during his career, starting that run by scoring the sixth goal in a famous 6-2 win at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2009.
The final whistle of Barcelona’s 4-0 in Madrid this weekend had barely erupted when Piqué took to social media.
“We are unique,” wrote the proud Catalan in the regional dialect X. “They will never be able to be like us. With all the young people of the Masia. What a recital. What pride.”
Six of the starting eleven Hansi Flick named were aged 21 or under and others had spent time at the club’s famous academy known as La Masia. Pau Cubarsi, the inflexible 17-year-old who was part of a brave backline that he caught Kylian Mbappe offside eight times, still lives in academy accommodation. from Barcelona record scorer the night, Lamine Yamal, only moved in at the beginning of this season.
Piqué’s insistence that Barcelona is “unique” is a direct mockery of Real Madrid. The reigning Spanish champions aren’t all that famous for their academy graduates, although Fabrica’s youth system has produced some gems over the years. Captain Lucas Vázquez, 33, who joined Real Madrid’s Under-17s in 2007, was the team’s only starter with experience in the club’s age categories.
Ironically, it meant the departure of Piqué’s fellow academy graduate Xavi Hernandez and the arrival of German coach Flick so that Barcelona’s young stars flourish. The proliferation of injuries and the club’s dire financial situation have no doubt also played a key role, but Flick has been quick to tap into La Masia’s prolific production line.
