Gerard Pique to Erling Haaland: If you want the Ballon d'Or, do not join the same team as Kylian Mbappe
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Published 03/02/2022 at 10:36 GMT
Forthright as ever, Gerard Pique has told Erling Haaland that if he wants to win the Ballon d'Or, then he shouldn't join the same team as Kylian Mbappe. Haaland and Mbappe are both rumoured to be on the move this summer, with Real Madrid in pole position to land Mbappe. Haaland's destination seems less clear, so could Pique's statement be cryptic advice that the Norwegian should join Barcelona?
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Erling Haaland would be better off not joining the same team as Kylian Mbappe if both young stars move clubs in the summer, says Gerard Pique.
The transfer sagas surrounding Haaland and Mbappe show no sign of abating, with Mbappe repeatedly linked with Real Madrid and Haaland with a wider spread of Europe's very best sides, including Real.
But if Haaland is to achieve the ultimate individual ambition for many footballers - the Ballon d'Or - Pique has advised him of his best move.
"If I were Haaland and I wanted to win the Ballon d’Or, I wouldn’t go to the same team as Mbappe,” Pique told Ibai Llanos on Twitch.
It's hard not to see Pique's comments through his Barcelona lens, and perhaps he intended them as a subtle prod to the Norwegian to join his club rather than head to Madrid.
Whether the Blaugrana can afford the huge salary and transfer fee that the 21-year-old would command is another question. They also seem well-stocked in forward areas for now at least, having signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traore in the transfer window, with those three forwards competing with the likes of Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite, Memphis Depay and Ousmane Dembele - even if the latter duo's futures in Catalonia remain in doubt.
Pique discussed other matters in a wide-ranging, informal chat with influencer Llanos, including his possible future life as Barcelona president.
He said: "If I were to become president I would change things.
"I would make the club more modern and I would tell all the people that surround the club to go to hell, because they're toxic.
"Anyone who fits that category should go to hell."
Pique's Barcelona are back in action this Sunday in a potentially significant La Liga meeting with champions Atletico Madrid. A win would take the Blaugrana above Diego Simeone's side in the table and into the UEFA Champions League places.
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