Puyol on Piqué: "This is all very familiar..."

Gerard Piqué's former Barcelona and Spain team-mate Carles Puyol took to social media on Sunday in support of the defender, in the wake of controversy over his shirt sleeves.

Piqué to quit Spain over mistaken sleeve storm

During La Roja's World Cup qualifier against Albania, there were suggestions the Catalan centre-back had cut back the sleeves of his jersey to remove the colours of the Spain flag.

However, it later emerged that he had altered a long-sleeve version of the shirt, whose design - unlike the short-sleeve top - does not feature red and yellow trim on the arms.

Speaking post-match, the player said the row was the "final straw" and announced his decision to retire from international football after the World Cup in Russia in 2018.

Puyol, Xavi also caught up in flag furore

In 2007, Puyol and Xavi Hernández - who are also from Catalonia - were caught up in a similar storm when it was claimed they had hidden the colours of the Spain flag on their sock turn-ups.

And in a message on his Twitter account, Puyol quipped: "This is all very familiar..."