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Former-Manchester United defender Gerard Pique has revealed his inside knowledge of Old Trafford as Barcelona prepare for the Champions League final next week .
Catalan born Pique, 22, spent eight years at the famous Barcelona youth academy, learning his trade alongside fellow stars Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas, before deciding his future would be better served with a move to United in 2004.
Despite maturing under the watchful eye of Sir Alex Ferguson he struggled to win a place in the first team and he returned to the Nou Camp last summer in a reported six million pound deal. It appeared good business for United, bringing in a youth player for free and then selling him back to the same club for a sizeable profit, but since going back he has gone from strength to strength.
Pique has been an integral part of a Barca team which has already won the domestic league and cup, and now have the chance to win the treble when they face United in the Champions League final in Rome. For Pique it is the dream chance to go head-to-head against his former side.
“It will be the biggest match of my short career and I am just trying to prepare for it by keeping calm and relaxed. I have helped Barca as much as I can by giving them information about United, we have talked about the way they play and I have said what I think are their weaknesses. When I came back here I never expected this to happen and will be a special game,” he said.
If the game has been billed as a clash between the two club's biggest stars, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, then Pique believes both have the potential to win the game on their own.
“They are players who are difficult to stop, you can try different ways to do it but they always seem to have something different,” he said. “They are both fantastic players but while Ronaldo uses tricks to beat a player, Messi in three movements can go past three players.”
Pique has no regrets about his time at United and still keeps in touch with some players.
“It was difficult especially to join in with jokes as a lot would go over my head but they were really good years there and I still speak to (Carlos) Tevez, whose English isn't very good and Patrick Evra,” he said.
“The difference with Barca is that there is more of a hierarchy in the dressing room, with players like Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, which you don't get as much at Barca, it is good to have respect but sometimes it needs to be more easygoing.
“I was always treated well but I was very young when I went, I didn't play and I stayed a lot at home and missed my family. I learnt to play football because there isn't anything else to do there, just play football. Importantly I learnt how to play without the ball and that in the air being tall isn't enough.
“I had always lived with my parents in Barcelona, I had friends from school and at Barca – I was part of a youth team which had won everything at youth level – and the change was very hard.
"Ferguson though was more like a father than a trainer, I would consider (Carlos) Quieroz to be more like the coach. Ferguson controlled everything, even your private life, he was like the owner of the club. I remember though he spoke with a Scottish accent which sounded to me more like Chinese but I wasn't the worst, there are still players there now who don't understand a word of what he says.”
Having returned to Spain, Pique has chosen to live in a quiet village on the Costa Brava, rather than the more exclusive areas of Barcelona and despite a reputation as being the life and soul of the dressing room, he says he appreciates the tranquility.
“You cannot compare Maresme and Manchester. Here it is peaceful and the views of sea are amazing, you can relax completely, I bought the house when I was living in Manchester maybe as a change from what it was like there,” said Pique.
Playing the final of the Champions League is the pinnacle of what has been an amazing season for Pique, who expected to spend most of the season as a substitute waiting for his chance.
But injuries saw him play from the start and he has also made his debut for Spain. His goal in the historic 6-2 win over Real Madrid has helped make him a fans favourite and he even kept captain Carles Puyol out of the team in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.
“It is true it would be a crime to ask for anything more but it is not as though this was my first year at Barca, as I was a youth team player and I grew up here knowing the club and its philosophy which has made it easier than say (Alexandr) Hleb," he said.
Pique is happy to be back with his home town club with which he has a bond he would never have at United.
“When you move to a club like I did when I went to England and played for United, you go to win trophies and for personal prestige. I would not ask someone to come to a club and feel the same as someone who is from that place,” he said.
“It did not mean the same for me to wear the shirt of Manchester United as it would have done for a youth team player but you still have to give your all. For me though I grew up with Barca and it is almost in my DNA.”
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