It's been almost two years sinceGerard Piquéleft the forefront of soccer protagonism. However, he always finds a way to stay in the spotlight.
The latest episode involved him sending a letter to the president of Espanyol. This has caused a lot of controversy in the club and in the media.
Piqué wrote a letter to Mr. Chen Yansheng, owner of Espanyol, and recorded himself on video while reading the content aloud.
The Letter: "A Rival of Our Level"
"Dear Mr. Chen:
On January 1st, the Kings World Cup Nations will be held in Italy. The national teams tournament, whose finals will be played at Juventus Stadium on January 12th.
For the preparation of the Spanish team, we want to invite a rival of our level to play a match in Kings format. Therefore, taking advantage of the Christmas break, we have thought of Espanyol's first team.
To offer an incentive, we are willing to bet the sum of one million euros, which the loser must pay to the winner.
Awaiting a prompt reply, sincerely, Gerard Piqué.
At the service of Real Club Deportivo Espanyol de Barcelona, public limited sports company, Cornellà, El Prat de Llobregat."
The tone is mocking. In the letter, he treats RCD Espanyol with disdain, considering it at the level of the competition he sponsors, the Kings League.
Paco González Replies to Piqué in His Own Way
In Cornellà, they took it very badly, as a new taunt from the former Barça player to the white-and-blue club. Some media did too. This is the case of Paco González, host and director of Tiempo de Juego on COPE.
The popular journalist replied on behalf of Espanyol, aggrieved by his placing it outside the city of Barcelona, and by the mockery of the "tip."
This is how the journalist replied to the former Barça player after his letter to Espanyol:
"When a team is in the relegation zone, picking on that team seems to me to be humiliating.
"If you're an equal, it's not. I mean, if Valladolid picks on Espanyol, Alavés with Getafe, it's a fight between equals."
"However, if you're Piqué, world champion, European champion, I don't know how many Champions, I don't know how much money in the bank..." Paco González stated.
Piqué Was being Expected in Madrid
He then added: "Saying about this tournament that you invented 'we're going to invite Espanyol and give them a million...' The reply I would give if I were Espanyol or the manager of its fan clubs would be:
" 'Well, look, we're going to bet the million on something else, we're going to do a crowdfunding among Espanyol's supporters.
"And we offer you a million if that proposal, if that sheet, you shove it up your ass in front of everyone in Cornellà'."
It's clear that Piqué has managed to get under the skin of the COPE journalist, who evidently feels no sympathy for the former Barça player.
González concluded: "'You go out there and we give you the million, but don't humiliate us as we're with a terrible ownership 10,000 kilometers away'."
Paco González's heartfelt defense of Espanyol concludes: "Laughing at a team like that is humiliating and I take that very badly. It would be funny if Espanyol were fifth, but with Espanyol being where it is, they should reply to him this way.
"It's pathetic. It's not funny at all. If he wants to promote his little tournament, let him promote it, but in another way, without laughing and humiliating."
Gerard Piqué's successes did a lot of damage among the media in Madrid. They were eager to settle scores with him.