Highlights

• Carles Puyol was a true warrior and leader on and off the pitch, demanding 100% effort from his teammates.
• Puyol's most awkward moment came when his former teammate, Alex Song, mistakenly thought he was being offered the chance to lift the La Liga trophy.
• Puyol had an illustrious career with Barcelona, winning 21 major trophies, while Song had a more turbulent journey, playing for various clubs before settling in Djibouti.

You don’t see characters like Carles Puyol in football these days. The former Barcelona and Spain centre-back was the dictionary definition of a warrior on the pitch. He would play hard but was always incredibly fair - both to his teammates and opponents.

Like all great captains, Puyol demanded 100 per cent effort from Barça’s players every single day. He conducted himself with the utmost professionalism and led by example both on and off the pitch, showing all the characteristics that you’d want to see in a leader.

However, Puyol was also involved in what must surely go down as the most awkward moment in football history. While there are other contenders for that particular unwanted title, footage of Puyol and his former teammate Alex Song is head and shoulders above anything else when it comes to the cringe factor.

Puyol and Song's painfully awkward moment

Back in 2013, Puyol made a wonderful gesture after Barcelona sealed the La Liga title following a victory over Real Valladolid at Camp Nou. Puyol turned down the honour of lifting the trophy in front of Barça’s fans and instead returned to the assembled squad to grab Eric Abidal.

Abidal, who had recently recovered from the liver transplant that saved him from a tumour, was presented with the incredible opportunity to lift the trophy alongside manager Tito Vilanova thanks to Puyol’s generosity. Vilanova, Pep Guardiola’s former assistant, was battling cancer at the time and tragically passed away at the age of 45 in April 2014. However, as Puyol extended his hand towards Abidal, Song (for some reason we still can’t understand) genuinely thought that he was being offered the chance to lift the trophy.

Oh, Alex. Song had experienced a difficult debut season with the Catalan giants following his 2012 move from Arsenal, so quite why he thought Puyol wanted *him* to lift the trophy when Abidal was stood right next to him is anyone’s guess. It’s still impossible to watch the footage without cringing - but if you’re brave enough, here it is…

Abidal: The best memory I have

Gah. Make it stop! Abidal and Vilanova eventually lifted the trophy moments later and the former admitted it’s his fondest memory from his entire career. "The best memory I have here is when I lifted the league trophy with Tito [Vilanova]," he was quoted saying by Marca in 2017.

”Also, in the last match I played here I was able to bring my cousin [who donated part of his liver to help the player's recovery] out to the middle of the pitch and he deserved it. I managed to get a lot of people to applaud him and I think that represents what Barcelona is all about."

What happened to Alex Song

Song, meanwhile, ended up playing a total of 65 matches for Barcelona, scoring one goal, before moving to West Ham on loan. The former Cameroon international then signed for Rubin Kazan, Sion, and is now on the books of Djibouti Premier League side Arta/Solar7.

In his first season with the club, Song helped them secure their first Djibouti Premier League title. According to The Sun, the 36-year-old has set up his own construction company and undertaken various projects, including building an international school in Douala. The same report says Song launched a fashion label called Systeme Tchakap, which has 21,000 followers on Instagram - although the most-recent photo uploaded to the account was several years ago now.

What happened to Carles Puyol

On the other hand, Puyol spent his entire 15-year professional career with Barcelona, winning 21 major trophies in the process. He said an emotional goodbye to the club of his heart in 2014 after an ongoing knee injury forced him to hang up his boots aged 36.

"I would never have thought then that I would have this great career," Puyol said after announcing his retirement. "I've lived the dream of so many young kids, doing what I most enjoy in life, playing football and training. I've won lots of titles but the most important thing is the human warmth and feeling I take from this club. I came here as a boy and I'm leaving with a family who I'm really proud of."

As captain of one of the greatest teams in history, many fans and pundits expected Puyol would try his hand at management, but the former defender sprang a surprise by revealing the idea didn't appeal to him. "I don't think I'll be a coach, it's not what I'd like most," he added. "Maybe I'll change my mind but for now I want to do other things."

Puyol has since worked as an agent and also had a brief stint in the transfer department at Barcelona. He rejected the opportunity to become the Catalan giants' Sporting Director in 2019, commenting via social media: "After weighing a lot, I have decided not to accept the club's offer.

"It has not been an easy decision, since I have always said that I would like to return to what I consider my home, but several personal projects in which I am immersed (mean) I would be prevented at this time from giving you the exclusive dedication that the position deserves. I would like to thank the club for the trust placed in me by offering me this position of so much responsibility."

Per Football Espana in August 2023, the La Liga legend was poised to return to professional football with his former teammate, Gerard Pique, as his boss - working as part of the transfer department at FC Andorra, who currently compete in the second tier of Spanish football.

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