Gerard Pique fears Stoke and thinks Barcelona wouldn’t win the Premier League

Could Leo Messi do it on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke?

Andy Gray is often credited as the originator of that great philosophical puzzler.

Gray’s original thesis, posited when Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona were in their pomp, went something like this:

“I don’t know if Barcelona have ever gone to a place like the Britannia Stadium and suffered the kind of onslaught from Tony Pulis’ team of long throws and free-kicks or been up to a place like Blackburn and been beaten up by their long ball into the box.

Mark Hughes may since have knocked some of the rough edges off Stoke, and in the process dampened some of that fear factor, but Barca defender Gerard Pique still feels there’s something in the theory.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph ahead of Spain’s friendly with England in Alicante on Friday, Pique played down the Champions League winners’ chances of sweeping Premier League glory should they be transplanted into the rough and tumble of the self-styled ‘greatest league in the world’.

“I think that if Barcelona or Real Madrid goes to the Premier League then the first year of playing there, there is no chance of winning it,” Pigue says.

“Yes, I think so, because if you go to Stoke, or other types of teams, then it will be really tough. It’s a debate – we could spend hours on it. If Manchester United or Chelsea go to Spain then the same. No chance to win the league.”

Pique accepts there has been a change in the approach of most Premier League sides since he played for Manchester United, notably in his own position.

“Now the position of the centre-back is not just about defending or being nasty or tough. It’s about knowing how to play football, control the ball, pass and be more comfortable in possession. And this is something that 10 years ago [in England] they didn’t understand. Rio was the first one who did it. And now there is Stones, he’s one of the new generation who understand football not just as a defender.”

“I think John Stones is a really, really, good player. He will have a good career. He’s like Rio, a bit. He’s young and alongside him they (England) probably need one who is more experienced. Jagielka is injured. But Smalling is playing well at Manchester United.”

Pique also reveals he keeps in touch with his one-time Old Trafford team-mate Wayne Rooney and believes the England man will emerge from his current slump in form.

“Sometimes we have phone calls, texts. He’s a fantastic lad. When I was there, he was really young and I was really young too and he helped me a lot. He involved me in the team, helped me to learn English. He was the joker in the dressing room. I have great memories.”

“He’s not as quick as he was, maybe, but he will always score goals – he scored a hat-trick against Brugge, he scored against CSKA (Moscow). He has kept scoring.

“It’s true he’s getting older, we all have to accept that, but he has the ability to play for a long time. And, you know, when you don’t score sometimes it is not because of you. Sometimes it’s maybe the team is not creating chances for you.

“Not everything, always, is about your performance. It’s about the team performance. When the team is not playing well then normally you will not play well. It’s all about the team.”