Barcelona star Gerard Pique has discussed his old club Manchester United and paid a huge compliment to their summer signing Harry Maguire.
The England international was Man Utd’s marquee signing of the transfer window just gone, joining in a big move from Leicester City to fix what had been a major problem position in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad.
And when asked about the deal, Pique compared it to signing the legendary Rio Ferdinand, whilst describing Maguire as a ‘great defender’.
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“It happened before with Van Dijk (at Liverpool) and before about ten years ago with Rio Ferdinand,” Pique told the Daily Express.
“Culturally they invest a lot in good defenders and Harry Maguire is a great defender.
“I hope that they can be at the top again.
Pique is one of the top centre-backs of his generation, so knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a great defender and help a team to titles.
So for him to praise Maguire in such a way should be a big boost for the 26-year-old as he settles in to life at Old Trafford.
Pique also praised his old team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is now United manager but who briefly overlapped with Pique as part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s playing squad back in the mid-00s.
“I saw him last year in the Champions League tie and I think he’s a great lad and a great guy,” Pique said.
“He is doing a very good job at Manchester United, let’s see this season how it goes for him and the team.”
Pique added that although he didn’t play as much as he would have liked at MUFC, he still feels being there as a youngster was a crucial step in his development.
“It was a great time there. I didn’t play as much as I wanted to but I was 17 and very young,” he added.
“It was a very important step in my career for the future.
“I had an amazing time there with team-mates like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs.
“To have the experience of playing with those experienced players helped me a lot for these years when I played here in Barcelona.”