Barcelona couldn’t do it at Stoke, Pique confirms
Bojan: Will not leave Stoke City in January, says Peter Coates
Gerard Pique has admitted that Barcelona really would struggle at Stoke City – at least the first time playing there.
The barometer for any foreign player playing in the Premier League for the first time has always been their ability to perform on a cold and wet midweek night at the Britannia Stadium.
Despite hailing Barcelona’s star trio of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi as the “best in the world”, Pique believes the Catalans would initially struggle to adapt to English football.
“I think that if Barcelona or Real Madrid goes to the Premier League then the first year of playing there, there is no chance of winning it,” Pique told the Daily Telegraph. “I think so, because if you go to Stoke, or other types of teams, then it will be really tough.
It’s a debate – we could spend hours on it. If Manchester United or Chelsea go to Spain then the same. No chance to win the league.”
On Barcelona’s superstar frontline, Pique said: “The key of these three is the relationship that they have.
“You can see that on the pitch. It’s magnificent. For example, when one is scoring a lot and the other is not scoring – Neymar, the other day, he gave the penalty to Luis Suarez. When you see this kind of attitude, it means a lot.
“Because the only problem when you have players of this magnitude is the ego. Suarez was the main star in Liverpool, Leo before we had Suarez and Neymar; it was just him. And how they connect – they do not have any ego and this is the most important part.
“And they are different. Neymar is the best one-on-one. He is unstoppable. You have Leo Messi who is the most complete player in the world – he can attack, defend, he can head the ball even though he is small. And then you have Luis Suarez and his first touch in the box is fantastic.
“It’s really easy to win titles when you have team-mates like Messi. Well, not really easy but easier than if you have another kind of player. To have Messi, Neymar and Suarez up-front. It is the best in the world.”
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