Wayne Rooney
The Spanish defender has insisted that his side needs to be wary of Wayne Rooney and revealed that the striker is their biggest fear ahead of the Champions League tie.
Barcelona defender, Gerard Pique, has admitted that the England forward, Wayne Rooney will be Barcelona’s biggest attacking threat, when the two teams meet in the Champions League Finale at Wembley on Saturday.
Wayne Rooney struggled with his form in the 1st half of the season after which he hinted that he wanted to leave United, but he made a swift U-turn and signed a healthy contract with United. Despite his poor showing in the World Cup, followed by a poor 1st half performance of the League season, he came back strongly and is now playing his best football and is in top form. His recent form help United clinch their record 19th League Title, becoming the most successful Team in the history of English Football and also helped United grab a place in the Champions League Finale.
Gerard Pique is quite familiar with Rooney and knows very well what the 25 year old striker is capable of, having spent four years with United in the youth ranks before rejoining Barcelona in 2008. The Defender admitted that it will be Rooney who will pose the biggest threat to the Spanish Giants on Saturday.
He said “He is one of the best strikers in the game and has scored a lot of goals.”
“I will have to concentrate hard to not to give him space. I have a good friendship with him but we both want to win this game and we will be fighting for our own interests. It was always difficult playing against him in training as it is with [Lionel] Messi now.”
However, Pique did not forget to pay tribute to his former boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, praising Ferguson of understanding his decision to return to Barcelona.
Pique stated “Ferguson has won loads of titles and although the teams change he keeps on winning. I had several really good years there but Barcelona is my home and I wanted to return here. He understood this.”
Earlier, Pique team-mate Andres Iniesta also praised the United side saying that Barcelona are wary of the Red Devils as they are capable of everything and anything. Although, he insisted that both the sides have improved since 2009 and deserve to be in the Finals.
Although, Barcelona are the hot favorites for the finals, but surely the Barcelona players are not taking it lightly as they know what the Ferguson side is capable of. This encounter between Barcelona and Manchester United will be a repeat of 2009 finals at Rome, where United suffered a 0-2 defeat. However, the Catalans need be cautious of the Red Devils as they will be marching for the revenge.
Tags: Barcelona, Champions League, Champions League Finale, Gerard Pique, Wayne Rooney, Wembley
