Pique mocks Arbeloa following Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey elimination
Gerard Pique has taken aim at his long-standing rival Alvaro Arbeloa through a mocking WhatsApp message following Real Madrid’s humiliating Copa del Rey elimination on Wednesday evening, reports BritPanorama.
The Spanish giants suffered a stunning 3-2 loss to Albacete, a club languishing in the second division, marking a disastrous debut for Arbeloa in the dugout.
Shortly after the final whistle, the former Barcelona defender sent a sardonic message to a private group chat that read: “Good debut, 3-2.” The jibe from the World Cup winner threatens to revive a bitter personal feud that has simmered between the pair for over a decade.
The message was directed at presidents of Pique’s Kings League, the seven-a-side football competition he founded in 2022, and became public after being exposed during a livestream by Andorran content creator Spursito. Arbeloa had only been handed control of the first team 48 hours earlier, following the club’s decision to dismiss Xabi Alonso on Monday. Alonso himself had been in the role for less than a year after taking charge last summer post-Carlo Ancelotti’s departure to manage Brazil.
The new manager opted to rest four key players for the cup tie, a gamble that backfired spectacularly. The animosity between Pique and Arbeloa stretches back to explosive El Clasico encounters when Pep Guardiola led Barcelona against Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Their hostility grew so intense that concerns emerged about potential disruption to Spanish national team harmony.
In 2015, Pique delivered a memorable verbal barb, stating: “Arbeloa calls himself my friend, but he’s just an acquaintance… cono…cido.” The deliberate pause split the Spanish word for acquaintance into two separate terms, each carrying insulting connotations, sparking widespread attention on social media. Arbeloa later confirmed the depth of their rift in 2017, declaring: “I would not go to lunch with Pique.”
Meanwhile, speaking after the game, the Real boss admitted the defeat was a ‘painful’ one. “At this club, a draw is bad enough, a tragedy,” he said. “Imagine a defeat like this. It’s painful and I’m sure that all the fans are hurt and even more so when you do it against a team from a lower tier.”
“I said it yesterday. I’m not afraid of failure and if you want to call it that, I understand fully. But if there is one thing I have learned in life, it is that failure is on the road to success and not in opposite directions. This defeat will make me better and it will make us all better. A starting point where we have a lot of room for improvement.”
As the dust settles on this unexpected exit, it serves as a stark reminder of how quickly fortunes can shift in football. The tension between Pique and Arbeloa adds an extra layer of intrigue, ensuring that their rivalry continues to captivate fans and commentators alike.
