'AS': Complete breakdown between Ramos and Pique, who could leave the Spain squad

'AS': Complete breakdown between Ramos and Pique, who could leave the Spain squad

Tom Smith 6 years ago 12.7k |

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A broken relationship. EFE/Archivo

Spain may be going through one of the most difficult periods of their footballing history. Gerard Pique has been the subject of insults and whistles from fans due to his actions on the day of the Catalonian independence referendum and now, according to 'AS', there has been a complete breakdown in the relationship between the Barcelona centre-back and Sergio Ramos.

Before the Spain squad linked up for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers, Julen Lopetegui and his players tried to relieve tensions surrounding Sunday's events in Catalonia, but Pique and Ramos have now almost certainly fallen out.

The Real Madrid captain recently slammed his Spain defensive partner after he tweeted about the independence referendum, saying: 'From today and until Sunday, let us express ourselves peacefully. We do not give them any excuse. That's what they want. And we sing tall and very strong.'

Ramos responded by saying: 'The tweet is not the best thing for the [Spain] group'.

On Sunday, Pique spoke in favour of the referendum, which was declared illegal by the national government, and cut an emotional figure when giving his opinion on how the police and government dealt with the situation.

Hundreds of people are said to be injured following clashes that took place between police and people attempting to vote.

'If anyone in the federation thinks I am a problem, I don't have a problem in stepping aside and retiring from international football before 2018', Pique tearfully said after the behind closed doors 3-0 win over Las Palmas.

The 30-year-old's political stance has caused a tense atmosphere in the Spain camp and the mentioned Spanish media outlet has reported that Pique could leave before the matches against Albania and Israel.

'Pique could leave the squad before Friday', insist 'AS', citing inside sources.

To top it all off, Pique arrived in Madrid and the first thing he decided to do was mock the policing in Catalonia, another act that caused a stir among his teammates, who are trying their best to defuse the heated atmosphere.

The drama continued when Lopetegui's men stepped out for an open training session on Monday. Pique received insults of all kinds and was greeted to signs that read 'you're revolting'.

Spain's coach now has a very fragile situation to deal with and will try his best to calm the waters over the next few days, but there could still yet be developments in this ugly feud.