Puyol: You have to respect Pique, although I would have acted more like Messi Barcelona Spoke at the Danone Nations Cup

Gerard Pique criticised the Barcelona board following the win at Getafe for allegedly feeding the media with stories criticising the Barcelona players, yet Blaugrana legend Carles Puyol has stated that he would have followed Lionel Messi's actions and kept things in-house.

The Argentine argued that Pique's statements made it a bigger issue at a point where Barcelona where struggling.

"You have to respect him, he says what he thinks, he's direct," Puyol said of Pique's words towards the Barcelona board.

"We all know him. I like to talk the same as Messi, so I would have acted more like him."

Victor Valdes, Puyol's former teammate, was relieved of his duties as Juvenil A coach following disagreements with the club, yet Puyol did not shed much light on the decision.

"Victor as a coach still does not have much experience," Puyol explained.

"Last season he did very well. In the world of football, he has a lot of knowledge to teach children.

"I don't know the reasons for his departure, and I'm not inside the club, but I'm sure he'll be a great coach [in the future] and will help develop some great footballers.

"Youth football is not easy, you have to focus on the training of the players and not so much on the results."

The 41-year-old turned down an offer to rejoin Barcelona as sporting director, publishing a tweet to explain his reasons for doing so.

"I was very clear in the statement, it cannot be interpreted beyond what I said," Puyol stated.

"I am at a crucial moment, I am developing projects, and now there will be one related to the DNC [Danone Nations Cup]; an online football and values program designed for parents who want to spend time with their children who are playing football.

"I believe in education through sport, with values beyond football."