​ Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has revealed that he delights in mocking Real Madrid players through Whatsapp after recently creating a special group chat with a number of Barça and Real players from the Spanish national team for the sole purpose of 'talking sh*t' to each other.





Pique is well known for engaging in 'banter' with Los Blancos stars and happily acknowledges the players in the group behave just like 'little kids' when it comes to the messages they send.

"Everybody knows that footballers have text groups on WhatsApp. I have one just for my friends from home, and I have another just for my Barça teammates. But my favourite one might surprise you," the three-time Champions League winner explained for The Players' Tribune.





"Earlier this season, when we were already eight or nine points clear of Real Madrid in the league, I started a special group for some of the guys on the Spanish national team who play for Real Madrid and ​Barcelona.





"All we do in that group is talk sh*t to one another about Barça and Real! It's the best. We're just like little kids. And the truth is, it's especially hilarious for me right now, because now we're up 15 points on ​Real in the league. So I'm getting very creative in my responses."

That's a reversal from last season when Pique and his Barça colleagues would be on the receiving end of the laughter whenever they met Real players on international duty.





"Last season, when the Real guys were winning everything, they were feeling pretty good. They were talking sh*t constantly whenever I saw them at national team training," he said.





"Man, every time they won a match last season, they were posting shirtless photos on Instagram from the locker room. Remember that?





"They were smiling and flexing their muscles like The Rock and saying #HalaMadrid and posting little trophy emojis. This season, though, it's a different vibe. All their Instagram photos are looking very sombre. '3 points today. We must keep working harder!'

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"So I'm texting them in the WhatsApp group, 'Come on guys, why so serious?!' Then I put a little crying emoji, and a laughing emoji. I even made a special name for the group. It's called: CONGRATULATIONS."

To read Spain and Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué's inaugural post on The Players' Tribune, 'A Long Story', in full, please visit: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/gerard-pique-a-long-story.

The Players' Tribune connects players with fans through the power of storytelling and has today announced its global expansion in partnership with Pique.

How much do you know about football culture around the world? What common practice do Japanese fans do after games? Which league are you not allowed to drink alcohol during the game? Which country has not qualified for the World Cup this year? What is the capacity of the San Siro stadium? Which season did Leicester City surprise the world and win the Premier League? Congratulations! Your knowledge of football culture is excellent!

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