Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney says Gerard Pique was 'bullied' out of the Premier League after failing to handle the physicality of Bolton Wanderers.
Pique has been one of the stand-out defenders in the world since rejoining Barcelona in 2008 but things were different during his time at Old Trafford.
Prior to his success with Barcelona the centre-back spent four years at United where he played understudy to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic before leaving in 2008.
Despite his immense potential Pique featured just 12 times in the Premier League for United, with one of those appearances coming in a 1-0 defeat by Bolton during his final season at the club.
The Spanish defender was hauled off after just 59 minutes and Rooney believes it was on that day that Sir Alex Ferguson realised the defender wasn't physical enough for English football.
“Bolton away more or less finished Gerard Pique's career at United,” Rooney wrote in his column for The Sunday Times.
“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 had bits of quality too and the way they fought and worked as a unit, then found moments to use that quality, was typical of how a team can beat better players by being more than the sum of its parts.
“It happened when United played Barcelona in the 2008 Champions League semi-final. Barca played the better football by a mile in both legs and that was 180 minutes of pure hard work, of hanging in there, and riding your luck.
“Real teams realise that sometimes you have to win ugly.”
