Gerard Pique was "bullied" out of the Premier League, says Wayne Rooney

According to Wayne Rooney, Gerard Pique was “bullied” out of the Premier League because he could not handle Bolton Wanderers’ physicality. This was one of the prime reasons that the 1-0 loss to Bolton in November 2007 spelled the end of Gerard Pique’s Manchester United career.

Before he returned to Barcelona and became a vital figure in a side that won the La Liga and the Champions League on multiple occasions, Pique spent four years at Old Trafford. The Spaniard played a part in only 12 games before re-joining Barcelona in 2008.

The Bolton game happened in Pique’s final season when the 20-year-old gave up and was called to the bench after only 59 minutes. Rooney mentioned this story in his column for The Sunday Times where he wrote, “Bolton away more or less finished Gerard Pique’s career at United. He was young and got bullied there and I think that’s when Fergie decided that, physically, he wasn’t right for the Premier League.”

“I always remember Vidic, if we were going to Bolton and it was the same when he was about to face Didier Drogba, he would be in the gym for two or three days before, pumping himself up.” Bolton’s only goal came because of Nicolas Anelka when he took advantage of a leap that was mistimed by the struggling Pique.

However, since then, Pique has only moved forward. He has been very solid at the back and has guided FC Barcelona with other greats like Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. Pique has now 28 major honors with Barcelona and the Spaniard also has over 100 caps for Spain.

He was also a crucial part of the national sides that won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

featured image credits- metro.co.uk