Barcelona centre-halfGerard Pique is one of the most divisive players in Spain.He is adored by fans of the Catalan club, having won everything there is to win at the Nou Camp, and having spoken of his pride at representing his boyhood club, as well as his pro-independence stance on Catalonia.
However, it is this stance that has seen him booed by his own fans at international level, despite being an integral part of the dominant Spanish side that won two European Championships and a World Cup between 2008 and 2012.
Spain defender Gerard Pique confirms he will retire from international duty after 2018 World Cup https://t.co/02JGtwRxF5 pic.twitter.com/wZW9aMjhaI
It is Real Madrid fans who love to hate him the most though, as one of the most high-profile symbols of Barcelona and Catalonia around.
Pique knows how Madridistas feel about himand you get the feeling he knows how to get under their skin, and so it proved after his side's hard-fought 2-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday night, in which the mercurial Lionel Messi starred, with a goal and an assist.
In the wake of the result, which moved Barcelona just two points behind their bitter rivals in the league table, Pique tweeted that Messi should have won the Ballon d'Or every year since 2009.
Si el Balón de Oro se diera al mejor jugador del mundo, Leo lo tendrÃa que haber ganado cada año desde el 2009. Otro nivel.
Pique: If the Ballon d'Or goes to the best player in the world, Messi should have won it every year since 2009 https://t.co/afTde0UVzV
"If the Ballon d'Or were given to the best player in the world, Leo [Messi] would have won it every year since 2009. He's on another level," Pique tweeted in Spanish.
Pique was actually a team-mate of Cristiano Ronaldo when he won the award in 2008, but showed little regard for that as he set about claiming that the now Real Madrid man did not deserve to be crowned the best player in the world in 2013 or 2014.
Ronaldo is the favourite for the award this time around as well, having won the Champions League and Euro 2016, while Messi's Argentina fell short in the final of the Copa America.