Gerard Pique has given his verdict on the GOAT debate amid speculation that he no longer speaks to his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi.
Part of the famous class of 1987 alongside Cesc Fabregas, Pique and Messi spent their teenage years together at La Masia before eventually becoming key players for the Catalan club.
Together they helped Barcelona enjoy unprecedented success until Messi’s shock departure from Camp Nou in 2021.
Did Messi and Pique fall out?
Reports in Spain - per the Daily Mail - suggested that Pique influenced Barça’s decision to allow Messi to leave the club. This led to claims that Messi felt betrayed by Pique.
When Paris Saint-Germain’s Messi held a Barcelona reunion dinner in January 2022 with ex-teammates, including Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Pique was conspicuous by his absence.
Reports from Spain claimed Pique hadn’t been invited.
And when Pique suddenly announced his retirement last November, Messi stayed surprisingly quiet on social media.
Pique appeared on John Nellis’s YouTube channel this week and name his dream 5-a-side team using footballers in his contacts.
After naming Carles Puyol and Fabregas, Pique selected Messi. (At least the legendary Argentina international still appears to be in the phone book!).
Gerard Pique answers the GOAT debate
Asked if the GOAT debate is over now after Messi outshone Cristiano Ronaldo by lifting the World Cup in Qatar, Pique responded: “Well, it’s true that the fight between them two in the last decade was quite impressive because both of them did incredibly well.
“I think that in terms of talent, Messi is number one, for sure. It’s true that Cristiano has worked very hard to try and compete and fight for that first spot but if you see the careers of both… I would choose Messi, for sure.
“He showed that even though he’s 35 he can compete as the best player in the world. He showed it in the World Cup.”
Pique is one of a handful of players to have played with both Messi and Ronaldo, so he’s in a pretty good position to judge.
Did Pique congraulate Messi for winning the World Cup?
Asked if he messaged Messi to congratulate his former teammate on becoming a world champion, Pique said: “Erm… not really. This is crazy but it’s true, I was disconnected from the World Cup. Since my retirement I needed to disconnect from sport, so I didn’t watch any games apart from the final - and not the whole game.
“I tried to disconnect, I went on holiday for a few days. My last few months were tough as a pro and I really needed to disconnect from football.”
Watch the video in full here: