During his extended interview at the World Soccer gala, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about his rivalry with Gerard Pique over the last two decades.
If we had to pinpoint a defender who became Cristiano Ronaldo’s headache, that would be Gerard Pique. The Catalan player was one of the few stars who sometimes managed to defeat the Portuguese legend. During both of their careers, they faced each other at a club and international level with both getting victories in different instances. Although Ronaldo has a slight advantage when you compare their confrontations, Pique also has a good record against him.
These two first met when Pique played for a short period of time at Manchester United. They actually won the Champions League together in 2008 but Gerard Pique was still a bench player when that happened. As soon as he returned to his beloved FC Barcelona, the defender started making a name for himself with Ronaldo suffering many times by his hands. By the time Cristiano moved to Real Madrid, a legendary rivalry was set between the two. We got many magical confrontations between both players in the famous El Clasico.
Ronaldo recalls his friendship and rivalry with Pique.
Ronaldo mentioned Pique in an interview after getting World Soccer’s Player of the Century Award: “As I told you before, it’s fantastic. A few weeks ago they nominated the best XI ever for the Ballon d’Or. I was there, of course (he laughed). I was happy. And now to be nominated with those players you mention is a great honor. To be here in the gala with these amazing players. Iker, who I haven’t seen for a long time and we won so many things together.
“Lewandowski has a fantastic career as well, he scored many goals and got many titles. Gerard (Pique), we played together in Manchester. We had many fantastic moments since he played there because when he left to Barcelona we fight a little bit but it’s part of the job and the rivalry. But we still maintain a great relationship. For me it’s nice. I’m 36 years old soon and I still enjoy the football.”
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