Gerard Pique has issued an unsavoury response to Alvaro Arbeloa following the Real Madrid defender's criticism of his Spain team-mate.
The Barcelona centre-back posted a tweet which appeared to make a mockery of Madrid's expulsion from the Copa del Rey this week as a result of the suspended Denis Cheryshev being given an appearance against Cadiz.
Arbeloa stated that "my friend Pique is obsessed with Real Madrid" and claimed he expected to see him "at a comedy club" after his latest Madrid barb.
Speaking after Barca's 2-2 draw with Deportivo, Pique described Arbeloa as "un cono...cido" - a remark which translates as "an acquaintance" whilst also making clear reference to the derogatory term "cono".
"It was one more tweet. I heard Arbeloa called me a friend. I don't consider him a friend," Pique also said.
Former Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero took to Twitter himself shortly afterwards to implore the former Manchester United defender to stop his inflammatory comments.
"Pique, please forget about your complexes and respect your elders," wrote the Real Sociedad man.
Turning his attentions to the match, in which Barca surrendered a two-goal lead in the final 13 minutes, Pique rejected suggestions the players were distracted by thoughts of next week's Club World Cup semi-final.
"The 2-1 left us a little shaken. But we've fallen many times and we've always got back up. These are things which will make us grow," he added.
"In no way were we thinking about the Club World Cup. We knew it would be a tough game, we tried to do our best but the result escaped us in the final few minutes."
‘He instantly popped into our ratings as one of the best U21 midfielders in Europe. The impressive thing is Slot has made him into more of a no.6' Inside Ryan Gravenberch's transformation at Liverpool
‘I don’t think Liverpool would look at Ollie Watkins, a striker isn’t a pressing issue for them – it’s Arsenal who need one’ Former Reds star explains why his old club don’t need an out-and-out forward this summer
